MERCEDES-BENZ PARRAMATTA Initially, Sreeni didn’t want to migrate to Australia. He was happy in his home city of Hyderabad, where he was making a good life as a young man. He was one of the last in his family to come to Australia – his brother arrived in 1991 – but after visiting a few times, he saw what he says were “opportunities in this beautiful land”. At that time, in 1998, there were 95,259 people in Australia who were born in India. Today, that number has grown to 455,389. It seems that many other people from India saw the opportunity here, just like Sreeni did. Sreeni is an information systems expert and a passionatecommunityrepresentative.Asthenew President of the United India Association (UIA), he represents a community of nearly 145,500 Indian migrants across New South Wales. Not long after being appointed to the role at UIA, Sreeni talked to Mercedes-Benz Parramatta about the organisation, his own migrant story and what brings Indians and Australians together. CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THE UNITED INDIA ASSOCIATION AND ITS PURPOSE? The UIA was founded in 1994 to represent the interests of Indian migrants to all levels of Australian government. It also allows members to maintain links with their Indian heritage while embracing the Australian culture. All other regional Indian associations in New South Wales come under the UIA’s umbrella and we represent all of their interests. Despite some challenges, the Association has persisted for 24 years. When UIA was founded, there was a limited migrant population in Sydney, but that has grown to around 150,000 people. India is a diverse, multicultural nation and we bring that diaspora here to Australia. We continue to retain our culture while integrating into life here in Australia. WHAT DOES YOUR ROLE AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED INDIA ASSOCIATION INVOLVE? My role is focused on ensuring the organisation has good governance in place, is accountable for its actions, and effectively represents the Indian community of New South Wales to government at all levels. I’m also entrusted with ensuring that the UIA executes its mission, which has five key elements: community engagement; migration support; government representation; seniors support; and youth support. We also hold several events each year. For example, we celebrate India Independence Day on 15 August, a full-day event called Mateship Fair (previously known as Australia- India Friendship Fair). Mateship Fair involves two countries forging friendships and bonding through celebrating the freedom India secured in 1947. 22 PEOPLE