About us
Mission
Activities
History
President
Committee
Founder
Our Mission
The National Italian–Australian Women’s Association aims to ensure that future generations will take pride in the achievements of Italian women despite the struggles, loneliness and isolation they felt due to language difficulties and other barriers encountered as migrants in Australia.
Read more about the association’s objectives here.
Our Activities
The National Italian–Australian Women’s Association recognises the accomplishments and contributions of women of Italian heritage to Australian society.
It acknowledges that these women are not simply the mothers, daughters and sisters of Italian men. They are progressive, competent and worthy of respect.
They are the true keepers of the Italian heritage amongst the new generations of Italian-Australians.
They have made an enormous and enduring impact to Australia.
Our Story
The majority of Italian immigrants to Australia came from the southern regions of Italy, such as Calabria and Sicily, and the Veneto Region in the North, frequently regarded as very conservative regions and often described as “patriarchal” societies.
In reality, the role of Italian women was never as subservient as many outsiders would think. They have always played a very influential role in domestic life and in the upbringing of children.
Today, women of multi-generational Italian heritage are part of the NIAWA community.
Our Mission
The National Italian–Australian Women’s Association aims to ensure that future generations will take pride in the achievements of Italian women despite the struggles, loneliness and isolation they felt due to language difficulties and other barriers encountered as migrants in Australia.
Our Activities
The National Italian–Australian Women’s Association today makes several important contributions to Australian multicultural life. It recognises the accomplishments and contributions of women of Italian heritage to Australian society. It acknowledges that these women are not simply the mothers, daughters and sisters of Italian men. They are progressive, competent and worthy of respect. They also have always been a great force in balancing the old world with the new, between the Italian traditions and the Australian customs. They are the true keepers of the Italian heritage amongst the new generations of Italian-Australians. They have made an enormous and enduring impact to Australia.
Our Story
The majority of Italian immigrants to Australia came from the southern regions of Italy, such as Calabria and Sicily, and the Veneto Region in the North, frequently regarded as very conservative regions and often described as “patriarchal” societies. In reality, the role of Italian women was never as subservient as many outsiders would think. They have always played a very influential role in domestic life and in the upbringing of children.
In reality, the role of Italian women was never as subservient as many outsiders would think. They have always played a very influential role in domestic life and in the upbringing of children.
Today, women of multi-generational Italian heritage are part of the NIAWA community.
Meet the women in our community
Our Committee
NIAWA’s volunteer committee comprises women of outstanding skill and expertise who work with passion and commitment. They give their time and expertise to help ensure NIAWA can continue to deliver its valuable service to the community.
In alphabetical order:
Mirella Bertollo
Concetta Cirigliano-Perna
Gabriella Copelli
Joyce DiMascio
Dona DiGiacomo
Nadia Fronteddu
Lisa Genovese
Gina Papa
Manuela Rispoli
Stefania Vetrano
Marina Zochil
Life Member – for service to the committee
Ausilia Palmas
Our President
Concetta Cirigliano-Perna AM
Concetta Cirigliano-Perna AM has dedicated her life to building connections within the Italian-Australian community, promoting the Italian language and culture, empowering women and improving aged care and well-being.
She is president of the National Italian-Australian Women’s Association and also the Dante Alighieri Society.
In 2024, she was awarded an AM in the King’s Birthday Honours for service to the Italian Australian community.
She came to Australia in 1984 and taught Italian at Macquarie University and has been a regular contributor to the local Italian media as well as writing books for the teaching of Italian language.
Our Founder and Honorary Life President
The Honourable Franca Arena AM, MLC
Franca Arena AM had a distinguished career as an advocate for migrant communities and women. She was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1981 to 1997 and the first person of Italian heritage to become a Member of Parliament. She served on a wide range of committees both in the NSW and Parliament and also the Labor Party.
She founded NIAWA in 1984 – it was a visionary step and created a powerful platform for Italo-Australian women who had previously been relatively invisible.
A journalist by profession, she came from Genoa in northern Italy and settled in Australia in 1959. Her personal papers are held at the Mitchell Library. She is a Knight Commander of the Italian Republic, “Illustrious Ligurian” awarded by the City of Genoa and the Region of Liguria.
NIAWA over the years
Women in the Italian community felt isolated and marginalised. They were trying to be good wives, mothers and good citizens, all without the supportive family network which many of them had left behind in their country of origin. It was a lonely time for many of them. Franca Arena, through her work as a journalist, as founding vice chairperson of the Ethnic Communities Council of New South Wales and deputy chair of the NSW Women’s Advisory Council to the Premier, was only too aware of these major problems faced by immigrant women.
Together with other activists, Franca Arena decided to fight for the recognition of the needs of women of non-English speaking background and for consultation between government and service providers. But for this to be successful, the women themselves had to take charge of the issues confronting them, organising themselves and developing formal structures within their own communities. As this started to happen through Ethnic Communities Councils all over Australia, Franca turned to her own Italian community where many women felt it was time for them to have a voice in Australian society.
The first step in promoting the needs of Australian women of Italian heritage was to organise a conference in order to get to know each other, share experiences and discuss problems. The result was the first international Italian-Australian Women’s conference, followed by the official birth of the National Italian-Australian Women’s Association, firstly in New South Wales and then in other States, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia.
The Association’s objectives are:
To increase, within the community at large, the awareness of the contribution of Italian-Australian women to Australian society.
To produce suitable material on topics of common interest for distribution to members, clubs and organisations and other interested people in the community.
To invite, whenever possible, eminent speakers from overseas so as to mutually exchange ideas, information and progress.
To focus on issues of concern to Italian-Australian women of the first and second generations and promote a better understanding amongst them.To promote Italian language and culture amongst members of the second generation.
To make submissions to Local, State and Federal Governments on women’s issues.To organise a regular Forum for women to share their experiences and exchange ideas on matters of common interest.
The Association soon became an important structure through which women could more easily understand the issues they faced, work together to overcome problems and provide a strong network of friendship in a country where established family networks were often non-existent. Women worked tirelessly and on a voluntary basis, building bridges of understanding, breaking down the effects of isolation and creating a feeling of strong solidarity.The Association has continued over two decades to fully inform the members about the way in which Australian society operates, giving Australian women of Italian heritage the skills essential for participating in society to whatever extend they choose.
In doing so, Italian-Australian women have been given a voice. They have been able to change the stereotype image of Italian women, that of the big mamma, submissive, all-enduring and dependent on the male members of her family. Moreover the Association has aimed at keeping Italian-Australian women up to date with the changes and reforms that have taken place in Italy, thus lessening the sense of distance and isolation.
Thanks to the Association, Italian-Australian women will no longer be the Cinderellas of the immigration process. They can now come forward and be protagoniste e non spettatrici (participants, not onlookers). Of course there is still a lot more to do.
Italian women are not isolated or voiceless as they used to be. They have learned the art of lobbying, they are more aware of their needs, rights and responsibilities, however, they have to keep fighting to ensure that newly-arrived immigrants do not experience the same difficulties and injustices they had to endure.
Times have changed and so has the Association’s task. The community is ageing and there is also a new wave of women arriving from Italy. It is the Association’s responsibility to ensure that the Italian language and culture are kept alive in Australia for future generations. This is one of the challenges the Italian-Australian community faces.
Join our community
If you’d like to be part of what NIAWA does, why not join our community and become a member. Or help us to continues our important work by making a special contribution in addition to the membership fees.