Minister Bishop has announced the appointment of three new Board Members to the Council for Australian-Arab Relations (CAAR).

Ms Amna Karra-Hassan

Ms Amna Karra-Hassan works for the Australian Federal Police in its Community Liaison Team. In this role, she engages with various communities to develop positive community partnerships. She is member of the NSW Youth Advisory Council which advises the NSW Government through the Minister responsible for Youth Affairs on issues of concern and policies relevant to young people (aged 12-25). Ms Karra-Hassan has played a lead role in a number of community events including hosting international and local poets, comedians and spiritual leaders. She also played a lead role in the establishment of the new women's AFL team, the Auburn Tigers.

Mr Soufiane Rboub

Mr Rboub is an international Advisor at the International Student Center, Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor & Vice-President (Academic) at the University of Adelaide and the Chair of the Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry in South Australia. In 2009 he successfully managed an AusAID initiative on behalf of the Iraqi government delivering support and logistics services to students at the University of Adelaide under the Iraq-Australia Agricultural Scholarship (AIAS). Mr Rboub has extensive experience delivering workshops in collaboration with the International Education Association (ISANA) on cross-cultural understanding and on the Arab world.

Ms Widyan Fares

Ms Widyan Fares migrated to Australia in 1995 after leaving the Rafha refugee camp in Saudi Arabia. She graduated from the University of Wollongong with a Bachelor of Communications and Media Studies majoring in Journalism and International relations. She was selected for a scholarship to study international media in the United Kingdom, where she spent three months at the University of East Anglia. Ms Fares worked as a radio host for SBS PopAraby, an Arabic music program presented in English. During her time at SBS, she also worked in television, online and was a member of the Australian Press Gallery in Canberra, Parliament House. Ms Fares is now a senior writer for the Point Magazine covering issues related to multiculturalism, countering violent extremism and community cohesion. Ms Fares is the media consultant for the Lebanese Muslim Association.

Media release: Council for Australian-Arab Relations Appointments