Fethi Mansouri
Deakin Distinguished Professor & UNESCO Chair, Comparative Research on Cultural Diversity and Social Justice.
Deakin Distinguished Professor Fethi Mansouri is the founding Director of the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation at Deakin University, Australia. He holds a research chair in Migration and Intercultural Studies (2008-), the UNESCO Chair for Comparative Research on Cultural Diversity and Social Justice (2013-) and was named Australia’s Top Researcher in Human Migration (2023-24) in the Australian Newspaper Research Magazine. He is the editor of the Journal of Intercultural Studies, founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Citizenship and Globalisation Studies and founding co-editor of the International Journal of Social Inclusion. He was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences (FASSA) in 2020.
Key publications and recent research
Professor Mansouri’s scholarly books (authored unless otherwise indicated) include: The Global Politics of Forced Migration: An Australian Perspective (2023), Racism in Australia Today (2021), Contesting the Theological Foundations of Islam and Violent Extremism (Eds, 2019), Interculturalism at the Crossroads: Comparative Perspectives on Concepts, Policies and Practices (Ed, 2017), The Politics of Women and Migration in the Global South (eds, 2017), Cultural, Religious and Political Contestations (ed, 2015), Global Perspectives on the Politics of Multiculturalism in the 21st Century (Eds, 2014), The Arab Revolutions in Context: Civil Society and Democracy in a Changing Middle East (Eds, 2012), Muslims in the West and the Challenges of Belonging (Eds, 2012), Australia and the Middle East: The Front-Line Relationship (Ed, 2011), Migration, Citizenship and Intercultural Relations (Eds, 2011), Youth Identity and Migration (Ed, 2009), Building Bridges: Creating a Culture of Diversity (2009).
His most recent and current research projects include:
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Needs and Gap Analysis – literature review, jurisdictional scan and data analysis (Victorian Department of Transport and Planning, 2024)
Mapping Social Services in Multicultural Societies (Australian Research Council Linkage project, 2020-2023)
A Transcultural Approach to Belonging and Engagement amongst Migrant Youth (Australian Research Council Discovery project 2018-23)
Diaspora Humanitarianism (Australian Research Council Linkage project, 2022-2024)
The Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies - CRIS (Department of Premier and Cabinet, 2019-2024)
Examining the perspectives of Australian multicultural youth on social justice issues (Centre for Multicultural Youth, 2022-23)
Building Capacity for Tunisian NGOs working with disadvantaged communities (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade/Council for Australian-Arab Relations, 2020-2021).
Service to the community
Throughout his career, Professor Mansouri has worked to support professional and local communities nationally and internationally. He has made significant contributions to tertiary education, research excellence, and multiculturalism in Australia and globally.
At the academic level, Professor Mansouri has made significant contributions to our understandings of cultural diversity, intercultural relations, social justice and human rights. His body of scholarly work has not only contributed to Australian multiculturalism and migration studies but has also impacted local communities in meaningful ways.
Indeed, at the local level, he has worked in various advisory capacities, as well as delivering workshops and presentations, to support local community organisations in their work towards the social inclusion of migrants and human rights for refugees and asylum seekers. He has volunteered his time to build the capacity of community service providers working around the social integration of migrants. Professor Mansouri sits on numerous advisory boards for not-for-profit organisations, state government agencies, and federal bodies, including the Department of Premier and Cabinet Research Institute on Social Cohesion (2016-2021) and the Australian Intercultural Society (2015- ). He was awarded the Victorian State Government Volunteering Award in 2001 and has received various awards and certificates of appreciation from Islamic philanthropic organisations as well as state government bodies, such as Victoria Police.
Professor Mansouri’s academic work has also impacted policy making at the international level. For many years, he has served as an expert advisor to various UN agencies, in particular, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Professor Mansouri was also elected to the Executive Committee for the Tunisian Competencies Abroad Organization and served for three years advising the Tunisian government on reforms to test education systems in relation to both building research capacity and connecting universities to local communities.
Overall, Professor Mansouri’s work is driven by a deep commitment, not only to academic excellence, but also to making a meaningful impact to the lives of his fellow human beings, locally, nationally and internationally. His 2004 co-authored book Lives in Limbo: Voices of Refugees under Temporary Protection was shortlisted for the for The Australian Human Rights Commission Awards.