Sydney-based non-profit community association, ADHIKA, Inc. will join forces with the Philippine Health Care Association of Australia Inc./Philippine Nurses Association Australia (PHCAA/PNAA) to hold the first-ever event recognising the exemplary services of Filipino-Australian nurses in Australia in the past three decades.
The awards ceremony will be held on 23 March 2014 at Rooty Hill RSL Tivoli Room, 55 Sherbrooke St, Rooty Hill, Sydney during the bi-annual ADHIKA Gala Dinner.
“The compassion and outstanding professionalism of Filipino nurses is well known around the world. In Australia, the healthcare industry holds them in high regard. The idea of bringing to public attention the work that they do is long overdue,” says Josie Musa, Overall Coordinator & Public Officer of Adhika Inc. and Producer/Broadcaster of Adhika Filipino radio program.
“As media practitioners, we want to help put the media spotlight on them and celebrate their role in the well-being of the mainstream community through these awards/citations.”
Ella Magallanes Martirez, past president & current Executive Director of the Philippine Nurses Association Australia, says that they have been looking for a way to recognise the efforts and the achievements of Filipino nurses in Australia.
“In many ways, Filipino nurses are among the unsung heroes of our country of birth, the Philippines, and adopted country, Australia.”
“Not only are they a source of pride for their families back in the Philippines but in Australia, they continue to raise the standards in their line of work, whether they are in hospitals, medical centres, clinics, nursing homes and other health institutions,” — said Ms. Martirez.
There are about 12,000 nurses of Filipino heritage in Australia. More than 1,000 Filipino degree-qualified nurses migrated to Australia from 2001 to 2006. Due to Australia’s flexibility in meeting supply and demand for nurses, temporary nurse flows have grown rapidly. In 2008-09 around 1,500 permanent nurses arrived per year while 3,850 nurses arrived on a temporary sponsored basis to Australia (Ref: Griffiths.edu.au).
Awards will be adjudicated by a panel of judges from the industry and candidates can either self-nominate or be nominated by their colleague or employer. Nominations open 28 January and end February 27.
The awards will coincide with ADHIKA’s bi-annual event celebrating the work of Filipino-Australian community media. This year, the group will forego the general media tribute in favour of the inaugural nursing awards and instead will run a short presentation, focusing on the local community media’s news coverage of the Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan disaster.
For more information and tickets please contact 0404 631 438 (Josie), 0404 871 319 [Ella) or 0412 906 224 (Michelle) or email us at adhikaapp@gmail.com or visit the website www.adhika.org.au
Adhika is a non-profit association of radio hosts, broadcasters and producers of seven community radio programs – Adhika, Agila, Bandila, Dalisay, Rizal, Sandigan, Tamaraw and The Mob Radio. PHCAA/PNAA is the leading Filipino-Australian not-for-profit organisation. It is independent, privately funded by members, community based, non-partisan, non-political and non-religious organisation.