The Museum’s Role in Citizen Engagement, Social Cohesion & Discourse

For more than twenty-five years, Melbourne’s iconic Immigration Museum has explored and celebrated Australia’s rich cultural diversity. Following a highly-distinguished career in business, General Manager Rohini Kappadath is expanding the way Immigration Museum collaborates with and represents communities to produce more meaningful, engaging and culturally nuanced experiences.

In this talk, Rohini considers the responsibility of museums and cultural institutions to participate more actively in social discourse and to be leaders in community engagement to better reflect Australia’s rich multicultural society.

Rohini Kappadath is the General Manager of Immigration Museum, where she has led its transformation since 2017. An established international entrepreneur, Rohini is passionate about building enduring, collaborative relationships across the globe.

With more than 25 years’ experience in Australia and across Asia, Rohini has established tech start-ups, led high-performance teams for multinational companies and navigated complexities in a range of markets and government settings. Prior to joining the Immigration Museum, Rohini was a Senior Adviser at KPMG and a Director at Pitcher Partners, where she facilitated cross-border collaborations between companies in Australia and the Asia Pacific region. She has also been a Managing Director at global analytics leader SAS Institute, driving the company’s expansion into India.

Rohini has been a non-executive board member for the Swinburne Innovation Precinct, Deputy Chair of the International Women’s Federation of Commerce and Industry, and Chair of the Multicultural Ministerial Business Advisory Council. She holds a Masters in Entrepreneurship & Innovation from Swinburne University of Technology.