About us
Media is a powerful platform and can bring meaningful changes to a society. Currently, no formal media platform in Australia exists to empower and uplift the whole Afghanistani community. Media has not been part of the Afghanistani culture, and has been mainly used to portray a negative image of Afghanistan, so community members are distrustful and wary of media. Huma Media strives to introduce media to our community as a way so people can speak out.
Our Mission
The most powerful thing a community or a person can have, is a voice. Huma Media strives to give a voice to the Afghanistani communities across Australia by producing content written in Dari language. Afghanistan is a country that has not seen a single day of peace in the last 40 years. Huma Media delivers meaningful content to these communities in an impartial, informed, and respectful manner and aims to open dialogue and debate about important issues such as mental health, education, business and Human rights
At Huma Media, we want to build a more inclusive Australia where people from Dari, Farsi and Hazaragi communities feel seen, empowered, informed and supported. Some of our specific visions are to:
- Allow Afghanistani people to have its own voice and place in Australia by presenting their voice to the wider Australian community;
- Find lost and hidden stories and screen them for the community;
- Bring communities together;
- Provide training, mentorship and support to students who are interested in studying media; and
Create content to educate our audience about the Australian culture and history.
A voice for our community
Media is a powerful platform and can bring meaningful changes to a society. Currently, no formal media platform in Australia exists to empower and uplift the whole Afghanistani community. Media has not been part of the Afghanistani culture, and has been mainly used to portray a negative image of Afghanistan, so community members are distrustful and wary of media. Huma Media strives to introduce media to our community as a way so people can speak out.
Bringing awareness/educational tool
One of Huma Media’s long-term goals are to bring awareness to the community about different issues that affect the community. This includes issues from social to economic, legal, cultural and religious issues. Currently, Huma is interested in tackling the stigma around mental health and trauma. The mental wellbeing of a person has a significant impact in how they live their lives and interact with other individuals. Mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and even suicide is quite prevalent in our community. Many people are not even aware of what mental health looks like, and even if they are aware, they would not seek help due to the existing stigma. We would like to change that by presenting meaningful conversations with mental health specialist (such as psychologists, counsellors, mental health workers and doctors) in order to break down the stigma and promote the idea that talking about mental health is as normal as physical health, and it is acceptable to seek help when a person is feeling emotionally unwell.
Women empowerment
Women in Afghanistan continues to face incredible hardship, discrimination and are often stripped off from their most basic human rights. Huma Media strives to provide women with a safe space where they can openly talk about problems and issues that are unique to them. The majority of our team consists of women producers, writers and hosts. By featuring women guests speakers who regularly voice their opinion and views about our community, and featuring programs in 3 languages – Dari, Farsi and Hazaragi – we aim to promote ideas of equality, fairness and human rights.
Mental Health
One of our key focus points at the moment is removing the stigma around mental health and trauma. The majority of Afghanistani refugees and asylum seekers living in Australia have faced incredible hardships, and some of them have endured decades of war, torture, imprisonment, loss of family members and persecution. As a result, mental health problems affect many people in our community. However, not many of us feel safe and empowered to talk about or even acknowledge our mental health challenges. With funding and support from Migration Council Australia and Department of Home Affairs, we have started this project and are looking forward to sharing our content from July 2022 which will focus on mental wellbeing and the rights of women.