Management committee

Mansour came to Australia as a Kurdish political refugee from Iran.  He has hosted New Voice, a Farsi/Persian current affairs and community program, on 2000FM since 1998. He worked as a journalist for SBS Radio and ABC Radio and TV and was twice nominated for a Walkley Award. He is also an interpreter and has worked with the Department of Immigration, assisting the settlement of refugees.

Claudia is a Walkley award winning producer at ABC RN. She is a contributor to the Earshot and History Listen podcasts. She has also taught journalism to First Nations broadcasters at James Cook University.

Dragana is an independent scholar and higher education professional, she is also a freelance translator for English, Serbian and Spanish. Dragana chaired PEN Perth’s Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee, and served on its Writers in Prison Committee.

Fatimah Abdulghafur Seyyah is a Uyghur poet based in Sydney, whose powerful verses vividly portray the struggles and resilience of her people in East Turkistan under Chinese colonisation. Her poetry and essays transcend borders, shedding light on her homeland’s plight as she advocates for justice and a brighter future for the Uyghur community. She refuses to let her voice be silenced.

Zoë is the Director of the Australian government arts support program Artbank. She trained as a lawyer focusing on copyright and other IP laws for writers, publishers and visual artists.  Zoë is currently the Chair of PEN International’s Women Writers Committee.

Tom Morton is a former ABC investigative journalist and radio documentary producer. After leaving the ABC he taught journalism at the University of Technology Sydney and was involved in 2 international research projects on coal, climate change and renewable energy. After decades in institutions, he retired in 2020 and now devotes himself to freelance journalism, climate activism,writing fiction, and trying to stay fit.