Afternoon Tea with the Afghan Judges

On Friday 21 February 2025, the Melbourne and Sydney offices of Ashurst hosted an afternoon tea with Afghan judges and their AAWJ mentors. The event was the brain child of Fleur Kingham, immediate past president of the AAWJ and the Ashurst pro-bono team.  

The event featured a series of insightful presentations, starting with a welcome note by Fatima Aria of Ashurst who also acted as interpreter for the session.  Justice Julie McIntyre, President of AAWJ, highlighted the steps that the AAWJ has taken, and will take in the future, to assist our Afghan sister judges who have relocated to Australia.  This includes offering membership of the AAWJ and the IAWJ.

John Gelagin provided valuable insight as to the assistance that Career Seekers can provide to assist in gaining employment that can utilise their skills and Damian Berger from the Department of Home Affairs discussed community liaison initiatives available to assist with integration into the Australian community. The event concluded with a discussion on future steps, including the formation of a committee to explore new projects and event ideas.  The AAWJ greatly appreciates Ashurst’s sponsorship of this event and the time that each of the speakers gave to attend.   The feedback we received from the participants was overwhelmingly positive.