Professor Hurriyet Babacan is the Director of the Cairns Institute at James Cook University.
Hurriyet has over 20 years of experience as an academic, public servant, community worker, researcher and trainer in the government, community and university sectors. Formerly Hurriyet held key positions such as Director of the Institute for Community, Ethnicity and Policy Alternatives at Victoria University, Executive Director, Multicultural Affairs, Women's Policy and Community Outcomes Branch in the Department of Premier and Cabinet (Qld), Commissioner with the inaugural Ethnic Affairs Commission in Victoria and was Victorian Manager, Office of Multicultural Affairs in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Hurriyet has led numerous initiatives, research and development projects at a national and international level. She has recently been a member of two Council of Europe and OECD working parties on Well Being and Institutional Cultural Competence. Hurriyet has published widely in national and international publications on the issues of health, welfare, multiculturalism, immigration, identity, social policy, gender, racism, settlement, child protection, education and community development including two publications for UNESCO.
She has recently co-authored the following books:
- Ethnic Minorities in Australia
- Situating Racism: the Local, National, and the Global
- Seeking Asylum in a Global World: A Comparative Analysis of Refugee and Asylum Seeker Citizenship Rights, Laws and Policies in Australia, Canada and New Zealand