Western Australian Multicultural Awards: Michael Elwan Receives Outstanding Individual Achievement Award

I’m honoured to have received the Western Australian Multicultural Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement.

The Western Australian Multicultural Awards recognise individuals who have made significant contributions to multicultural communities and who promote the principles of inclusion and cultural respect across Western Australia.

For me, this recognition reflects a journey shaped by migration, caregiving, and the search for belonging.

Migration and identity

I was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and migrated to Australia in my late twenties.

Migration brings opportunity, but it also brings complex questions of identity, belonging, and responsibility. Many people carry the quiet weight of navigating different cultures, expectations, and family roles.

These experiences shaped my interest in multicultural mental health and community wellbeing.

Multicultural mental health in Australia

Much of my work focuses on the intersection between culture, migration, and mental health.

Through therapy, supervision, training, and advisory roles, I support individuals and organisations navigating the realities of multicultural Australia.

This includes helping people explore identity questions, migration stress, and the emotional pressures that can come with living between cultures.

Continuing the work

Receiving the Western Australian Multicultural Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement reminds me how important it is for mental health systems to recognise the experiences of multicultural communities.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue contributing to conversations that strengthen inclusion, cultural understanding, and community wellbeing across Australia.

LEXs is Michael Elwan's Perth-based practice, working online across Australia. Services include training and workshops, lived experience consultancy, Social Work Supervision, Lived Experience Leadership Supervision, Frontline Supervision, therapy and keynote speaking. Training and workshops can be commissioned for organisational leaders, practitioners and frontline teams, and carers, families and communities. Explore LEXs services.