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Speaker 1: And a raft of events and activities are being funded

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Speaker 1: to strengthen international student well being as well as employability

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Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory. Nineteen events and activities have received

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Speaker 1: grants of ten thousand dollars from the Northern Territory Government

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Speaker 1: aiming to strength and student well being, connections and employability.

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Speaker 1: And one of those projects is the Skill Up to

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Speaker 1: Scale Up Employability Program facilitated by the Kindness Shake and

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Speaker 1: the Kindness Shake co founder and chair Ben Perveda Alfonso

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Speaker 1: joins me on the line right now. Good morning, Ben, Good.

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Speaker 2: Morning Katie to you and are your listener so good

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Speaker 2: to be back?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, lovely to have you on the show. Ben. How

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Speaker 1: does this Skill Up to Scale Up Employability program work?

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Speaker 2: Katie? This is a problem that we've been running for

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Speaker 2: the last three years and it's an opportunity to provide

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Speaker 2: valuable professional development, enough skill in along with exposial to

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Speaker 2: employment opportunities and netbooks for international students. Basically every semester

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Speaker 2: we choose a topic. For example, last semester we chose it.

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Speaker 2: We bring industry together, we bring education providers and other

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Speaker 2: international student graduates who may have gone through the process.

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Speaker 2: We have an opportunity for them to be on a

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Speaker 2: panel where current international students get the opportunity to ask

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Speaker 2: questions and get some feedback from them. Then at the

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Speaker 2: end we do a bit of networking and hopefully facilitated

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Speaker 2: an opportunity for a current and past international students to connect,

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Speaker 2: but also to bring industry leaders to the table and

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Speaker 2: assist international students to connect, but also to become more

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Speaker 2: employable and.

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Speaker 1: So ben How important is that grant funding that's been

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Speaker 1: received and what exactly will that go towards?

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Speaker 2: Okay, it is essential, It is so important, and it

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Speaker 2: is we're very thankful with the Northern Territory government to

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Speaker 2: continue to receive the support that we've been receiving since

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty. Basically, UH, the funding is to spain in

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Speaker 2: things like when you hire or food, UH, gifts for

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Speaker 2: the speakers, UH, whatever operational matters we need to organize

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Speaker 2: through the through the funds, and obviously having an opportunity

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Speaker 2: to be supported as a volunteer organization that everything that

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Speaker 2: we do is in a volunteer basis is really important

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Speaker 2: to continue to operate, especially in programs like this one

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Speaker 2: that's been running for now such a long time that

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Speaker 2: international and education providers are so aware of and to

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Speaker 2: continue running them is really essential. So yeah, I think

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Speaker 2: it's important and we're very thankful that we were one

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Speaker 2: of the nineteen grand recipients to receive that.

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Speaker 1: And then in terms of those that have taken part

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Speaker 1: in the program in the past, what kind of things

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Speaker 1: have they told you, you know, how has it benefited

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Speaker 1: benefited them?

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Speaker 2: We've received some incredible, incredible comments on feedback that is

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Speaker 2: truly amazing, Katie, when you hear a students telling you, oh, guys,

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Speaker 2: you changed my life after attending this event, I learned

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Speaker 2: that I should do this, and then I did it,

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Speaker 2: and then I got a job or telling us, oh,

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Speaker 2: and after attending this event, I met with this industry

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Speaker 2: leaser and then I'm having a coffee with them next week.

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Speaker 2: And interestingly, Kry, for example, yesterday we were in a

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Speaker 2: media event and someone asked that same question and then

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Speaker 2: I told them, look, as long as we are able

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Speaker 2: to They asked me how many international students we supported

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Speaker 2: to get a job through it, and I told him, look,

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Speaker 2: there is only so much that we can do. We

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Speaker 2: connect the students in the industry, but that is also

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Speaker 2: a followup process that they need to take, but I

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Speaker 2: told them there is as long as we are able

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Speaker 2: to support at least one international student to get a job,

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Speaker 2: then that is already a win. And Demian Charles from NYC,

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Speaker 2: one of the biggest I companies to step in to

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Speaker 2: answer the question too, and he actually confirmed live that

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Speaker 2: after attending the scale Up to Scale Up event on

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Speaker 2: IT two weeks ago, he actually employed an international student

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Speaker 2: from that event and that international student is starting at

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Speaker 2: any seat today. Thanks, proud and so happy.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that is awesome, and it's great when you can

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Speaker 1: sit like when you can actually see that kind of

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Speaker 1: thing come to Fruition.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and that goes to show the importance of having

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Speaker 2: opportunities for international students not just to connect and learn,

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Speaker 2: but also an opportunity for them to create more chances

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Speaker 2: for them to stay. Because I think it's really important

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Speaker 2: to bring hundreds of international students and provided quality education

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Speaker 2: and a great community. But at the end, what we

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Speaker 2: also wanted for them to stay to be using the

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Speaker 2: skills that they're learning that UNI to be able to

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Speaker 2: contribute to the society. So programs like these are really helpful.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, they are so incredibly helpful and Ben, you know,

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Speaker 1: we know it's been we know it's been a tough year.

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Speaker 1: I know that you know that the has been a

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Speaker 1: lot of sadness following on from the dates of Seafat

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Speaker 1: and events like this and different initiatives to you know,

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Speaker 1: to really strengthen our international student community and to keep

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Speaker 1: everybody together, I would imagine is absolutely instrumental at the moment.

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Speaker 2: One hundred percent KRY has been a pretty tough year,

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Speaker 2: as you mentioned, and I guess it's really important to

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Speaker 2: continue to see people talking about this topic, events and

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Speaker 2: initiatives that bring international students together and the raise awareness

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Speaker 2: about the challenges, but more importantly the opportunities that the

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Speaker 2: territory has to offer. I think recently during interview him

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Speaker 2: and our project manager for the Kindest Festival, Will who

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Speaker 2: is leading the biggest event for international students in the territory,

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Speaker 2: happening next Saturday on the twenty four of Juna the

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Speaker 2: Darwin Water from four four pm. You know all about

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Speaker 2: the festival and what we're planning to do in terms

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Speaker 2: of performances from international students, exhibition stalls, food stalls and

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Speaker 2: things like that which brings thousands of people to attend

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Speaker 2: them and celebrate multiple journalism. But at the same time,

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Speaker 2: we've actually partnered with the Bangladeshi Student Association and the

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Speaker 2: community to honor see Ifad's life and name. UH. We

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Speaker 2: we will be having a multicultural parade where we will

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Speaker 2: be leading, where the Bangladesh community will will be leading UH.

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Speaker 2: But also we will have a miner of silence and

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Speaker 2: an opportunity to light candles at the lagoon on see

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Speaker 2: if It's name. So this will be a really wonderful

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Speaker 2: opportunity to remember that, to ensure that we continue to

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Speaker 2: raise awareness that things need to happen still and that

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Speaker 2: we honor his life in the best way that we

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Speaker 2: can as an international student that is for and by

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Speaker 2: international students organizations.

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Speaker 1: And I think that's a real lovely thing to do

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Speaker 1: and the right thing to do. And Ben, you know what,

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Speaker 1: You've been such a champion for the Northern Territory over

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Speaker 1: the years, and I know that what's unfolded over the

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Speaker 1: last few months has been really hard on you, and

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Speaker 1: I just want to say that keep doing what you do.

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Speaker 1: You're a great bloke, You're a great ambassador for the

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory, and continue, you know, to do what you

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Speaker 1: are doing, but also to make sure that that change

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Speaker 1: does come into ply.

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Speaker 2: O Katie, I very much appreciate you you comment your

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Speaker 2: thoughts during these difficult times. I always appreciate the opportunity

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Speaker 2: to comment, talk about it, and for you to raise

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Speaker 2: awareness and to help us put the message out there.

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Speaker 2: It's been tough, but we know that there is a

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Speaker 2: bright future hopefully, and we'll continue to fire and work

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Speaker 2: really hard to make it happen. The territory needs more

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Speaker 2: skilled people. The territory needs more international students, and we

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Speaker 2: need our community where they can be supported and educated,

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Speaker 2: but also they can be safe and where they have

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Speaker 2: opportunities of employment and to stay here and do great

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Speaker 2: things for our community.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, you spot on well, Ben Perveda, Alphonso. It is

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Speaker 1: always great to catch up with you, mate. I really

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Speaker 1: appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much for having

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Speaker 1: a chat with us.

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Speaker 2: Thanks so much, Katy. So good to be back and

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Speaker 2: I'll see you at the kind of the twenty four

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Speaker 2: of you.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely absolutely, it sounds like it's going to be beautiful

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Speaker 1: and a wonderful event has always been.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, Katy, Thank you