Duniya Behter

Duniya Behter: Creating a better world together. Duniya Behter shifts the mainstream narrative about people with migrant and refugee backgrounds, from vulnerable to capable. Women and young people in Bendigo and Shepparton drew from their cultural roots, to build creative businesses and produce new digital creative works. The name, Duniya Behter, emerged from conversations with young Cultural Facilitators employed to work on this project and it speaks to the spirit and intention of MAV’s regional Victoria program. It is a reflection of some of the cultures in Bendigo and Shepparton where the project is based. Duniya means the world in Arabic, Hindi and it’s also found in the languages of Swahili, Hazaragi, Urdu and Persian, where it holds a similar meaning. Behter means better but working together to make better. The project began in June 2021 amidst increasing racism during the Covid pandemic and was completed in April 2022.