AUSTRALIA - Getting involved in the community

www.theislamicglobe.com - Almir Colan, a well known figure in the Australian Islamic finance scene, has jumped aboard the social  networking bandwagon by launching AusCif (the Australian Centre for Islamic Finance) with some colleagues. Colan told The Islamic Globe:

“AusCif actually evolved from the Islamic Finance Australia Facebook page, which… made me rethink how we are engaging with the community and media in terms of what is going on Down Under with Islamic banking and finance...So now I am starting community events to encourage awareness of what is Islamic finance and what it could eventually become. For instance, I just finished a few events in Melbourne and Sydney and next month we are going to Brisbane, Canberra and so on.”  (source)

According to Colan the Australian community is very keen to get involved and explore what Islamic finance entails: “There are lots of private training, discussions until midnight with people who are hungry to learn... from small grocery shops to large scale business they all want to explore what Islamic banking and finance is and if it can benefit them in some way... and what can we do for them.”
These activities are not for profit but the organizers hope that some members in the community will continue on to more serious engagement with Islamic finance and take it to the next level through professional courses
or the Masters degree from Latrobe University. Colan said: “I feel that we all will benefit by linking academia with business and community because it all becomes more real. University is not for everyone and people
want to do business and learn in a way that makes sense to them so we have to catch up with that reality.”
The AusCif website is: http://auscif.com

Source : http://www.theislamicglobe.com/enews/2012/The_Islamic_Globe_No_49_010212.pdf  - Feb 1, 2012