Saeed Khan

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Saeed Khan, is an Australian politician, Marrickville councillor since 2004, current Deputy Chair of the Ethnic Communities Council of NSW and Member of the Australian Greens. Khan was preselected by the Greens to run for the Federal seat of Grayndler in the Australian federal election, 2007. The electorate of Grayndler includes the areas of Marrickville Council, Newtown, Leichhardt Council, Ashfield, Summer Hill, Lilyfield and parts of Canterbury.

A Grayndler resident for nearly 20 years, Saeed Khan has been a passionate local activist committed to the diverse community of Inner-Sydney.

Biography

Saeed Khan’s commitment to environment, social justice and active leadership on key social issues, stem from his lived experience. He was born in Khanpur (NWFP) Pakistan, and is the eldest son of a famous Union leader Abdul Bashir (Awan Pakistan), known for winning the land rights for the people of Khanpur (NWFP) during the 1970's construction of Khanpur Dam

Khan holds a Masters in Management (Sports Management) and an MBA (E-Business Management) from the University of Technology, Sydney. He currently works in IT Management.

Khan has lived in Sydney for over 20 years. He was a young General Secretary of the Pakistan Association of Australia from 1999-2001 and for many years campaigned for refugee rights and multiculturalism.

He joined the Australian Greens in 2003 as he was attracted to their environmental, social and human rights policies. Having been elected to Marrickville Council in 2004, Khan became a key activist against the massive expansion of Sydney Airport and campaigned passionately to give voice to the people of Inner-Western Sydney. Khan worked hard with concerned local residents and in 2007 succeeded in halting non-aviation commercial developments at Sydney Airport.

As a Councillor, Khan pushed for new and improved Council services that reflect the changing face of Marrickville.

Prior to joining the Greens, he held positions in a number of ethnic community organisations and campaigned for refugee rights.

Political Activism

Marrickville Council, Sydney
Marrickville Council, Sydney: Elected as a Greens' Councillor from March 2004 – September 2009, chaired a number of Council and Advisory committees. www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au
Candidate for 2007 Australian Federal Election
Australian Greens candidate for the Sydney electorate of Grayndler, succeeded in gaining nearly 20% of the primary vote in Greens 2nd largest electorate in the country. http://greens.org.au/grayndler
Ethnic Communities' Council of New South Wales (ECC NSW)
Ethnic Communities' Council of New South Wales* (ECC NSW): Elected Deputy Chairman (2007-2009) and Vice Chairman (2005-2007) of the ECC, the peak representative body of diverse migrant communities of NSW. www.eccnsw.org.au
The Institute for Cultural Diversity (ICD)
Founding Board Member since 2007. Co-founded the ICD, a think-tank to promote a cross-political approach to issues of cultural diversity.
Pakistani organizations in Australia
General Secretary of Pakistan Association of Australia (1999-2001) and Founding Member (1995) and Vice President (2003-2008) of Urdu Society of Australia Inc., involved in promoting Urdu language and writings in Australia since 1995. Organising major international Urdu poetry recitals.
Sydney Airport Expansion
The massive expansion plans of Sydney Airport threaten to bring more noise and more transport congestion while also impacting on our local shopping strips. In August 2004, Khan revitalized the campaign against the Sydney Airport expansion. He has been involved in uniting neighboring councils in a campaign against the Airport overdevelopment.
Marrickville Tunnel
Council has reversed its position and now opposes the proposed road tunnel under Marrickville. Khan worked with concerned residents to achieve this important win.
Indigenous Services
Khan has worked with the local Aboriginal community and agencies to improve indigenous services in the area. Due to the increased indigenous population in the Marrickville area, Khan is lobbying the State Government for two new Family and Youth workers to be placed at IWACC.
Sports and Leisure
Marrickville has very little open space and it requires extra care in providing sport and leisure opportunities in the area. Khan has worked with local sporting clubs and organizations to improve consultation and in upgrading sporting facilities. Khan has also worked closely with local community clubs who provide important and affordable local services. He initiated a clubs conference last year to support and assist local clubs to continue to thrive.

Art and Culture
Being a published poet, Khan has a special interest in the arts. He has been working with fellow Greens to improve Marrickville Council’s partnership with the Addison Road Community Centre, to benefit the local artist community. Khan is also a founding member of the Urdu Society of Australia
Pakistan Earthquake Appeal Coordination Committee
Founding Coordinator of *Pakistan Earthquake Appeal Coordination Committee (PEACC), Australia (Since 2005). The committee, through its Australia-Wide Appeal and its lobbying in Federal Parliament, played as key role in facilitating nearly A$50 Million of Australian humanitarian aid for Pakistani earthquake victims including medical teams. www.peacc.org
Other achievements
–Australian Greens' spokesperson on Aviation and Airports since 2005
–Founding member of Marrickville Transport Action Group www.marrickvilletag.org
–Initiated and chaired the Steering Committee of "Across my Bridge"(2007-present),an innovative arts-based leadership project for the Islamic Youth of Sydney. Funded by the Australian Government and Westpac Bank.
–Media- Opinion Writing: His opinion pieces have been published in Sydney Morning Herald (Australia's largest newspaper), ABC Online, Inner-Western Courier, Indus Age, Online Opinion, as well as international website such as www.Chowk.com
–Urdu Poetry: So far 2 collections of my Urdu poetry have been published in Pakistan; last book was launched in Lahore Jan 2007. http://saeed.be

Urdu Poetry

Saeed is considered one of the up and coming Urdu poets of today.

He grew up reading and writing Urdu poetry in the North of Pakistan and continued his passion after he moved to Sydney during the late 1980s.

Saeed was first discovered and encouraged as a young poet in Sydney (1994) by Ashraf Shad, a senior Pakistani journalist, writer and poet. Soon after he met Ustad Om Krishn Rahat, a prominent Urdu poet from Fridabad India, who had moved to Sydney. Ustad Rahat spotted Saeed’s poetic talents and helped him improve his language and writing skills. He also developed his poetry through reading and interactions with many prominent poets from India and Pakistan who traveled to Australia for annual recitals.

Two books of Saeed’s Urdu poetry have been published so far. The first collection of his poetry, 'manzar baat karte hain' was published in Lahore in 2003. Saeed’s second collection of Urdu Poetry “ Eik Muthhi Mein Mere Khaab” was recently published by “Sham-k-Baad Publications in Lahore and launched across Pakistan (Jan 2007). The book received numerous fine reviews by the media and literary circles.

Among those who have praised Saeed’s poetic works are stalwarts like Ahmad Faraz, legends like Amjad Islam Amjad, Himayat Ali Shaer, and Pirzadeh Qasim, as well as contemporaries like Noshi Gilani and Farhat Abbas Shah.

Being a founding member of the Urdu Society of Australia inc., Saeed has also been involved in promoting and developing Urdu writings in Australia since 1995. He served as a Vice President of the Urdu Society from 2003-2008 and played a key role in developing and project managing major international poetry recitals.

References

* [http://www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/council/councillors/skhan.htm Marrickville Council website]
* [http://greens.org.au/Grayndler Greens website]
* [http://www.sadaewatansydney.com/booklaunch-saeedkhan.htm/ Sada-e-Watan Sydney]

External links

* [http://www.saeedkhan.org/ Saeed Khan's Official website]
* [http://saeed.be/ Saeed's Poetry website]
* [http://www.youtube.com/user/SaeedsPoetry/ Saeed's Poetry Videos on YouTube]
* [http://www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/council/councillors/skhan.htm Marrickville Council website]
* [http://greens.org.au/Grayndler Greens website]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KobmFOPIpo Greens Leader Bob Brown visits Saeed Khan, Greens candidate for Grayndler]
* [http://www.peacc.org Pakistan Earthquake Appeal Coordination Committee]
* [http://www.saeedkhan.org/topics/2056.html Pakistan Earthquake Appeal]