Palliative Care Victoria and the Australian GLBTIQ Multicultural Council are proud to present an exciting and diverse panel for our joint event Our Choices - Conversations with the LGBTQIA+ community about palliative care.
Go back to event details
Key resources are listed below the speaker information.
MC & Panel Chair
Vitor Rocha (he/him)
Vitor is the Palliative Care Lead with Murray Primary Health Network. He is a gay Brazilian born, overseas medical trained GP, researcher and Palliative Care public health advocate living and working in Dja Dja Wurrung Country (Bendigo) in regional Victoria. His endeavours include among many to support priority populations with their end-of-life journey and promote holistic quality of life surrounded by their families of choice, communities and friends.
Panelists
David Ayliffe (he/him)
David is a published author, voice artist and founder of a disability business Best People Care and a small charity Humanity in Need - Rainbow Refugees. He hosts a podcast "No Sex Please - I'm religious!" that discusses religiously sex shame as it impacts many cultures around the world, particularly LGBTIQ people. He has worked in the disability sector since 2012.
Maria Bololia (she/her)
Maria is a Youth Development & LGBTIQ+ Professional, activist who was once told, “Change Makers are Dangerous” and responded with “May We Be Wonderous In All Our Danger”. Co-Author of Little Blue Book for Girls 1 & 2, First Health & Sexuality Guide for young women funded by YACVIC which made headlines and banned from secondary school libraries for including chapter on homosexuality and lesbianism. Author of I’m A Lesbian From Lesbos story of lived experience in Living & Loving In Diversity the first LGBTIQA+ Multicultural Multifaith Anthology. Former secretary of AGMC Australian LGBTIQA+ Multicultural Multifaith Council. Director of Informing Diversity & Inclusion Consultancy which delivers training to corporate sector around the navigating intersectionality between multicultural, multifaith and identifying outside of the LGBTIQA+ acronym.
Margherita Coppolino (she/her)
Margherita is an Intersectionality consultant. She currently sits on several Boards including Co-Chair of ILGA Oceania & member of the ILGA World Board and Vice Chair on the Drummond/&Queer-space Board. Past appointments have included President of the National Ethnic Disability Alliances, Victoria Ministerial LGBTI Taskforce in 2020, SBS Community Advisory Committee since 2019, Chair of Arts Access Victoria and Australia Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) Boards.
Margherita is first generation Australian, born to Sicilian mother who migrated in the 1959. She was born with a Short Statured condition and is a proud feminist and lesbian. In her spare time, you will find Margherita either taking photos, volunteering, working out in the gym, travelling wine and whisky tasting and chilling with friends.
Vibol Hy (he/she/they)
Vibol has lived in Dandenong for most of their life and believes the multiculturalism here is one of the best in the world. He is a public servant and hopes to impact people's lives positively. She is unapologetic for advocating for diversity, inclusion and equity. Like many a queer, they love pop culture and fashion. He has a BA from the University of Melbourne and an MA from Monash University. They are a believer that education and community can transform and nourish lives.
Sasja Sÿdek (she/her)
Sasja, an indigenous Singaporean trans woman of color and founder of Trans Sisters United, is a published author and contributor to the book ‘Nothing to Hide - Voices of Trans & Gender Diverse Australia’ anthology, as well as the ‘Transgender Australia: A History Since 1910’. She hosts the television show ‘Trans Fabulous’ on Channel 31, and is a producer and presenter at 3CR’s ‘Queering the Air’ and ‘Everybody Eats’ at Joy 94.9fm. Sasja recently made her runway debut at the Global Indigenous Runway during the Melbourne Fashion Festival 2024.
Key Resources
For all:
- “My Choice of Care”: Palliative Care From Multicultural and Multifaith LGBTIQA+ Perspectives and Experiences (2023). Melbourne: Palliative Care Victoria
Download report - Palliative and end-of-life care for LGBTIQ+ people: Scoping Review (2022). LGBTIQ+ Palliative Care Project: LGBTIQ+ Health Australia
Download
For Community
For Carers & Health Professionals
- LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Palliative Care: A toolkit for Carers & Healthcare Professionals (2022): Palliative Care ACT
view the report