I’m sure you’ve been hearing a lot about asylum seekers and refugees in the news. As a human rights advocate for the past 25 years, a lawyer, social worker, and teacher, Kon Karapanagiotidis, - CEO & Founder of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre - is the go-to man for everything you want to know about people seeking asylum.
At 28, Kon founded the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC). Established in the space of 8 weeks as a class project while a teacher, the ASRC has now gone on to become Australia’s largest organisation helping people seeking asylum. When I first met Kon, he actually took me over to where ASRC was set up - a cute little converted 20sqm fruit shop. Over 12,000 people have now been helped via a team of over 1200 volunteers and 80 staff who deliver 30 life changing programs, all without a cent of Federal Government funding.
Kon’ holds 6 degrees in the fields of law, social work, psychology, business, education and international development and his work has been recognised with an Order of Australia Medal, a Churchill Fellowship, La Trobe University Young Achiever Award, Victoria University Alumni of the Year, AHEPA Humanitarian Award, Citizen of the Year by the Maribyrnong City Council and recently voted one of Australia’s 25 most influential people in the social sector by Pro Bono Australia.