September 30, 2026
Meaningful connections begin with our willingness to understand perspectives and experiences beyond our own. These connections shape how we engage with the world around us.
From intercultural learning to cultural experiences that bring communities together, technological innovations that support the full, rich extent of human cultural diversity and critical thinking around artificial intelligence (AI) governance and creativity, discover how Cultural Infusion is helping connect communities through experiences and learning while contributing to conversations about identity, inclusion and representation. Finally, our CEO and Founder Peter Mousaferiadis reflects on the recent devastating floods in Nepal.
Here, we hope you find inspiration to create more meaningful connections in your classroom, workplace and beyond.
Education & Experiences
Recipes for Harmony
They say the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach, and food is one of the most wonderful ways to bring people together and celebrate culture. Invite students to share dishes that reflect their cultural backgrounds through a multicultural food day, creating opportunities to discover the traditions and stories behind the food. You could even turn it into a cooking experience, inviting students and families to prepare a simple dish together while sharing the cultural significance and memories connected to their recipes.
Recipes for Harmony is an interactive, multimedia resource filled with stories, sounds and flavours from around the world.
Listen to audio clips featuring personal memories and greetings in different languages, watch short videos of people from diverse backgrounds sharing the cultural significance of their favourite dishes, and explore fun facts and cultural background information. Recipes for Harmony helps educators explore culture, connection and diversity through food. And it’s free to access on our website.
Building Intercultural Capability in Victorian Schools
The Intercultural Citizenship Ambassador Program (ICAP)* continues to build momentum across Victoria, with a strong uptake throughout 2026. Our program is on track to reach a target of 600 student participants by the end of this year, with schools reporting high levels of engagement and positive outcomes from recent delivery.
“ICAP fostered a stronger student voice and encouraged thoughtful, inclusive dialogue. We believe the program provided a meaningful and enriching learning experience that will continue to benefit students well beyond the classroom.”
— Epping Secondary College, 2026
Designed for Years 7, 8 and 9, ICAP supports students in developing empathy, intercultural understanding, leadership skills and confidence through facilitated conversations, collaborative activities and meaningful opportunities for student voice.
The program has recently been completed at Keilor Downs Secondary College and has just begun at Clyde Secondary College. Thanks to Victorian Government funding, ICAP is currently available free of charge for secondary students at Victorian Government schools.
With the rest of our 2026 calendar fully booked, we are now welcoming expressions of interest from schools planning for 2027 and 2028.
If your school is interested in helping students build the skills to navigate an increasingly diverse world, we would love to hear from you.
👉 Learn more about our approach to intercultural understanding in the classroom.
👉 Enquire here for ICAP 2027 or 2028.
*Available in Victoria only.
FREE for secondary students at Victorian government schools.
Discover the Story of Your School Community with Atlas
Atlas for Schools provides a secure and ethical way for schools to explore their cultural profile through anonymised data collection. By completing a simple survey, schools receive a tailored report highlighting insights into areas such as languages, heritage, countries of birth, belief systems and more, along with resources to support meaningful classroom conversations.
Trusted by organisations and communities across more than 40 countries, Atlas helps schools move beyond assumptions and better understand the students they serve.
We are offering Atlas free of charge to a limited number of schools.
👉 Enquire here 👉 FAQs
Other News
- Dalang Sumardi returns in Term 4 – Master Shadow Puppeteer Dalang Sumardi will be touring Australia again in Term 4, bringing his Indonesian shadow puppetry and cultural programs to schools.
- Learning Hub – Continued development and promotion of the Learning Hub, giving educators access to intercultural resources, lesson plans, interactive learning experiences and professional development.
- More touring artists on the horizon – We’re currently in discussions with several exciting artists about potential future Australian tours. Stay tuned for more announcements!
- ICAP continues across Victoria – The Intercultural Citizenship Ambassador Program (ICAP) continues to be delivered in schools across Victoria, supporting students to develop intercultural understanding, connection and active citizenship.
- Looking ahead to 2027 – The Education & Experiences team is already working with schools and early learning services on their 2027 cultural calendars, with bookings and enquiries underway for significant cultural dates and celebrations throughout the year.
Discover New Experiences:
For Schools, Workplaces and Communities
We’re excited to introduce our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Launch Experience, designed to support workplaces and organisations as they take meaningful steps in their reconciliation journey.
Led by an experienced First Nations presenter, the tailored experience brings teams together through cultural activities, storytelling and facilitated discussion, deepening cultural understanding and connecting employees with the purpose of their RAP.
Discover the Reconciliation Action Plan Launch Experience
For Schools
We’re excited to welcome three new interactive cultural programs to our Education & Experiences offering in Victoria: Afro-Colombian Rhythms & Culture, French Rhythms & Culture, and Italian Rhythms & Culture. From the café musette of Paris to the tarantella of Italy and the cumbia and puya rhythms of Colombia’s Afro-Caribbean coast, these programs bring live accordion, authentic percussion and dance into the classroom.
Afro-Colombian Rhythms & Culture introduces students to the music and cultural heritage of Colombia’s Afro-Caribbean coast, with hands-on percussion, traditional instruments and rhythms including cumbia and puya.
French Rhythms & Culture brings the atmosphere of traditional French café and musette culture into the classroom through live accordion, dance, movement and interactive rhythm activities.
Italian Rhythms & Culture explores the energy of Italian folk traditions through live accordion, the tarantella, dance and hands-on rhythm activities featuring the traditional tamburello.
Discover the new programs: Afro-Colombian Rhythms & Culture · French Rhythms & Culture · Italian Rhythms & Culture
Intern with Us
Professional & Career Development Session for Interns
Cultural Infusion Foundation is organising a Professional & Career Development Session for university students, recent graduates, interns, and aspiring professionals on 29 September, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
The session will provide practical guidance on building a strong personal brand, improving resumes and LinkedIn profiles, confidently presenting skills and experiences, and preparing for future career opportunities.
Led by Rezza Moieni, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Cultural Infusion, the session will offer valuable industry insights and practical advice to help participants strengthen their professional presence and take the next step in their career journey.
LinkedIn Professional Development Initiative
Cultural Infusion Foundation has launched a LinkedIn Professional Development Initiative to help interns and fellows showcase their internship experiences and strengthen their professional presence online. Participants are invited to share a short reflection about their experience, which our team will transform into a professionally designed LinkedIn feature that highlights their learning, skills, and achievements.
Invitation to Join
As part of the Cultural Infusion Internship Program, interns are invited to join the Cultural Infusion community and connect with a global network of organisations, cultural leaders, experts, and changemakers. Members can access research initiatives, learning resources, industry insights, tools, and opportunities to engage in meaningful professional conversations. Interns who register will receive a two-year membership upgrade.
Apply now: https://foundation.culturalinfusion.com/internships/ | Email: [email protected]
The Atlas Platform News
Every Map is a Choice
A projection decides what looks big, what looks central and what looks peripheral. The old default made Africa look about the size of Greenland when in fact it is 14 times larger — a distortion that has quietly shaped how generations picture the world.
Giving users a choice of projections is part of a broader principle behind Atlas: data should be presented in ways that make its assumptions visible rather than hiding them behind a single default. It is the same thinking that drives our white paper research into how organisations measure culture.
Key Events
Australian Professionals of Multicultural Communities (APMC) Gala Awards, Melbourne
Australia has an extraordinary amount of talent, far too much of it left on the table. Our CEO spoke at the APMC Gala Awards, exploring the necessity to rigorously define and measure cultural diversity so we can develop meaningful strategies around this underutilised and key asset.
Voices of Cultural Infusion
Employee Spotlight: Amira Fares
As a Programs Coordinator & Social Media Lead, Amira is a key part of our Education & Experiences team; she helps deliver programs to schools, early learning centres, libraries and communities across Australia. Alongside this, she supports clients and coordinates programs and presenters, including the 2026 Sumardi Tour, which is touring Master Dalang Sumardi to schools and centres across Australia to deliver his Wayang puppetry programs. This year, he is kicking off his tour with Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands, which has had a long historic connection with Wayang. Beginning as an intern as a part of her master’s degree, Amira returned to Cultural Infusion after completing her studies. Originally from Malaysia, Amira’s multicultural background has piqued her interest in intercultural understanding and seeing the world from different perspectives. This and her keen interest in planning and running programs also made her a natural fit for Cultural Infusion.
What Amira enjoys most about her job is meeting presenters from different backgrounds and learning from their knowledge and experiences. She particularly enjoyed working on a new project, Meet our Presenters, which gave her the opportunity to hear directly from presenters about their cultures and passions.
Amira also thoroughly enjoys reading, games, television and music from around the world. For her, it is important to remain engaged with stories from other cultures to learn, challenge our assumptions and appreciate broader perspectives beyond our own.
What If Our Future Had a Compass?
Can culture provide the bearings societies need when technological capability is advancing faster than institutional judgement? The Age of Culture (TAOC) Project’s major report features timely ideas from Cultural Infusion CEO Peter Mousaferiadis among many other international experts in culture.
Access the full report here.
AI Governance & Creativity
Want the juice on AI, including the spate of recent lab leaks, AI creativity and its impact on art, and most ethical way to deploy AI? Tap in to Cultural Infusion’s Innovation and Impact VP Ben Christensen discussion with Gilad Berenstein from AI and Faith and Dr Marcus Schwarting.
How Do We Measure Diversity?
In 2016, Cultural Infusion CTO Rezza Moieni asked Cultural Infusion CEO the question that led to the creation of Cultural Infusion’s Atlas: ‘How do we measure cultural diversity?’
New on the Blog
How does the contemporary teacher meet the increasingly diverse needs of students in today’s classroom? Interning with us from Cardiff University, Libby Pachul wrote about this in her post ‘Am I Misreading My Students’ Behaviour?’
Read more: https://education.culturalinfusion.com/misreading-students-behaviour/
Thinking of Nepal, by Peter Mousaferiadis
Like many, my thoughts are with Nepal and the Nepalese people in the aftermath of the most recent devastating floods, with everyone with connections and loved ones in Nepal who have been caught up in the disaster, and with all those working to support one another. I know Kathmandu as a place of celebration and connection from arriving there two years ago, unintentionally in the midst of Holi. Nepal’s spiritual traditions, including those of the holy men, the Sadhus, whose presence is a distinctive part of the country’s cultural landscape, have been passed down through countless generations along with local knowledge. I was lucky to meet such people on my trip. With such devastation, local traditions are under increasing pressure. These traditions are part of humanity’s cultural heritage, infinitely precious, and also hold the keys to resilience and recovery.
Calendar Spotlight: Dashain, 11 to 21 October
Nepal is home to many diverse groups, each with its own traditions, including more than 120 distinct language groups. Among the country’s many festivals, Dashain is one of the most widely celebrated.
For many Nepalese people, Dashain is a time of reunion. Families come together, share food, exchange blessings and celebrate traditions passed down through generations.
This year, as Dashain approaches, our thoughts are with those affected by the recent floods and with families who are grieving.
Through Rhythm of Nepal, featuring Australia’s foremost Tabla player, and Rhythms and Movements of Newar Culture, you can experience some of Nepal’s traditions, music and heritage.
Thanks for reading! Keep connecting, be well, and see you next month!
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