The Empowerment Issue, Kmart Decorations & New Year, New Editors.

Helen: And…after a long summer break of suffocating humidity and too many iced coffees, Craccum is back for 2018. As you’ve probably seen the pixelated photo of our sweaty faces at a migrant youth march on AUSA’s Facebook page last year. We’d just like to take the chance to give a shout-out to those who firstly voted us into this editorship role, and secondly to Shakti Youth who brought us together as two women of colour passionate about activism and the arts. As you probably remember from our campaign, we bonded over miso ramen, house plants and unlikely animal friendships. Not only that, but we also bonded over the 32 degree heat when we met up with each other in Malaysia, in Jasmin’s hometown, Ipoh.

Jasmin: Having Helen visit me while I was in Malaysia was a lot of fun because I got to be a tourist in my hometown. I also realised I don’t know a whole lot about driving around the one-way streets of old town Ipoh because I got us lost 80% of the time we were there. Thank the universe for creating Waze. We’re excited about the year ahead in our fancy new office. We’ve decorated it with some cute K-mart finds (some cloud bookends, pineapple fairy lights and a glittery purple clam pillow, our own personal coffee mugs) and fun posters. Moving on to business, the theme for this issue is empowerment. As women of colour we have faced a lot of hurdles in our work and academic lives. When Helen suggested empowerment as the theme of the first issue I agreed with it straight away because we share the same vision for what we hope to accomplish with the magazine this year.

Helen: We also had the best laksa while we were in Ipoh, just like to highlight that. It was my second time in Malaysia and I’d 100% go there again! Getting back to the theme though, we both agreed that empowerment was extremely important as we want to transform Craccum into a publication which promotes inclusivity and recognises diversity. I’m particularly excited for everyone to read the interview we did with the incredible women behind Brown Noize as well as the letter from Sinai from the Malosi project to her fellow Pacific students.

Jasmin: One of our focuses for the year was also to feature more things happening around the University community. Featuring the amazing clubs around uni such as the Emelia’s interview with the Sinai showcases the often invisible but incredibly valuable work that clubs and groups around the University do. It’s inspiring to see the work of the Malosi Project in empowering Pacific Island youth and their families, as well as their blog that tackles various social issues. I’m also particularly excited about the street style and empowerment spread in the lifestyle section and the exciting ways in which our cultural identities can be incorporated into the clothes we wear daily. We hope you enjoy reading the first issue!