One of the best things about The Colosoul Group is that it allows young people to share their creativity and ideas with the world. Everybody can be their own person and express their personalities, whether it be through writing, photography, blogging or designing, and it shows in the projects that we do!

Happy Wednesday!

It's a full house in the Colosoul office today, with everyone working hard and getting things done. We've been super busy lately, especially because November is just around the corner - where has the year gone!?

November is particularly important because it means the start of Movember. We have joined forces with WAM (West Australian Music), and we are very excited and proud to present the 2015 Movember Fashion Show, an event to raise awareness of men’s mental health. This event is unique, as it will be female models strutting the catwalk in men’s clothing, showcasing nine designers.

There will be live DJ sets, including Base Kadet, Allira and Kid Tsunami, some of which have personally struggled with mental health issues and understand the value of such an important event. 

For more info, head to the Facebook page, tickets are $15 with part proceeds going to beyondblue. 

Don't miss out on this great event and the chance to show your support for men's mental health!

Let's Meet: Prince Rara

Aweh!, I’m Prince Rara, but you can call me.. well.. Prince Rara. I have come a long way from working in mental health as a Councillor in Sydney for the past 4 years. I tried my hardest to be in the media industry whilst living in Sydney, but needed to get qualified in the industry first as its very competitive. In order to survive I studied full-time, serviced my mortgage; my house being in Perth - dealt with unruly tenants and useless agents, paying extortionate amount for rent in a shared room in Sydney's trendy city dwelling neighbourhood… Surry Hills, all the while working full-time managing people with mental health issue! wooh!.... I’m tired thinking about it. I happened to be in Perth and landed an awesome opportunity to work with Colosoul. I got an Editor’s role, I love it. It’s very hectic and there’s a lot to incorporate throughout the day, for it to run smooth. Communication is crucial; being able to adapt to big and interesting personalities, and planning ahead especially with events. The night before I start work I have a list of things I have to achieve for the next day. Speaking with the (CEO) Tricia, she advised me to tackle big tasks first. I’m still working on implementing that into my days, but can be very distracting when you’re being pulled around the office and new tasks fall from the sky. I’m excited that one day I’ll look at my resume and discover all the great things I’ve accomplished, because at the end of the day it’s for personal and career development.

What does Colosoul Group mean for me?

My name is Paula Ruiz and I am from Colombia. I came to Australia to improve my English skills and professional knowledge. I started to work in Colosoul since July 2015 and this experience has meant for me a great opportunity to meet fantastic people who come from diverse countries as well as Australians. We all are there for different purposes but one of the main reasons is to share experiences no matter how old you are, where you come from or what you do ... Colosoul means an artistic connection for all of us since it produces a powerful synergy among team members.

If I describe a day at Colosoul I would say that it is a mixture up of feelings such as happiness, stress, responsibility as well as funny moments. Being part of Colosoul has represented a significant occasion that helps me to integrate my background experience with real Australian work environment. I love marketing and that is why I feel so lucky to keep doing it here and I would like to say thanks Colosoul for this brilliant idea which I have not seen before in any Latin-American countries.

I would be a deep supporter to all this kind of initiatives because I am convinced that Colosoul has been making the best for enhancing our professional future .

When I let go of who I am, I become what I might be

23.09.2014

Hi there!

My name is Ashvin Nair and currently I am the public relations officer for Colosoul Group Inc. I'm still fairly new here as but I've have been spending the past 5 months helping to organise and promote some the events that we have hosted. It's also my final semester and Curtin University and majoring in public relations and marketing and I can't wait to graduate!

I am writing this from our awesome new basement space and it's still got a bit of work to go but I can see this is going to be an amazing reflection of the organisation and I can only imagine the creative juices that'll be flowing  once it's all completed.

I've only recently grasped the concept of practical public relations and how it works in the non-profit environment and I really appreciate the opportunity to put my past 3 years of repetitive theoretical concepts and assignment writing to some real world use (especially when it's for events that will provide a positive impact on those in need).

Working in the non-profit sector has been very fulfilling for me however it's not without its hurdles. One of which I have experienced in my department is the "getting-your-foot-in-the-door syndrome" I suffered from at the beginning of my work. I found it very hard to get the events and organisation pitched well enough to  new media platforms or publications. I found that If you don't pitch your ideas quickly and well enough they will not want to hear anything about you! I do feel I am overcoming my "getting-your-foot-in-the-door syndrome" and am developing strongly the skill of event/news story pitching to journalists and organisations efficiently and effectively.

I've learnt to be persistent and to wade through the rejection just to get to that one moment of success. For now I soldier on and I know I have plenty more to learn which motivates me to get as much experience under my belt and to make the most of  my time here with Colosoul.

-Ashvin Nair (Public Relations officer)

19/03/14

Recently I have a great team who take charge of their responsibilities; I love it when I get a crew that takes initiative and are really passionate about what it is they want to do within the arts. These types of volunteers is what Colosoul is looking for and is about; the atmosphere around the place is a buzz.

I have an amazing editor - Brooke, who works full time and comes in on Fridays to oversee our Colosoul team. What a champ! Brook knows how to listen, take advice and get the ball rolling. The unfortunate thing when volunteers leave in an unprecedented way without passing over their roles properly it does cause a bit of mayhem at the Colosoul Group, mainly because people are trained as they enter the mentorship program. 

During handover and the only person who knows how to hand over properly is the person who just had their role. Due to a high number of volunteers coming through the program this has seemingly always been the most effective way until past few months. With a bit of stress roaming around the place due to a couple of volunteers who decided not to hand over properly we have had to implement a different structure for our system to work more effectively. I always ask my volunteers how we can do things to better improve our quality of work ethics and professional standards, quite often they come up with some great ideas! Below is a weekly update I get from one of my team leaders, some insight in to what is taking place behind the scenes..

Updates from the past week are:

Claire  (Art Editor) has been doing a stellar job so far

• building up the art team. She has recruited a few interested team members to get involved with art and such

Karen Hansord (General Writer) has been great submitting stories.

•  I look forward to her next article. I am meeting with her this Friday to discuss the Books Editor position. She is a self proclaimed book geek, so I think if she's able to take on that role that would be great.

•  Has also been great at submitting some wonderful stories to boost up the website submissions. She's more focused on the social issues side of things and is happy to contribute where possible.

Tom Munday

• Music so far is doing fine - Tom Munday has a real grip on things I believe and is posting on FB and getting a good gig list together.

•  Samuel (Theatre Editor): Going really well with Fringe and hopes to continue things after the festival has finished.

• Movies Editor :Still on the lookout for a new Movies Editor, Social Issues Editor and some more editorial assistants. I have put in a request to HR.

• Ezine: Going to try hard to build up the ezine in house along with the design team.

•  Issue #11:  looking good so far - I'll have a timeline for you on Friday to hang in the office as a visual aid! Speak more on Friday about things! - Editorial team

Tricia Ray 

CEO