28/10/2026
We at Victorian Afghan Associations Network (VAAN) had our election on 8th of September 2026 at our office in Dandenong.
The election was chaired and convened by Doctor Mohammad Reza Aloudal and we had the privilege of having him at our election event.
Mr Aloudal started the meeting by introducing himself and opting out his decades of work experience in the community services sector.
He acknowledged VAAN’s leadership and members for their services to the community.
He then introduced the agenda of the election night to everyone present that included:
- President’s report
- Treasurer’s report
- Any changes request to the Charter
- Election of the Office Holders
This was followed by a report from VAAN’s President Mr Zabi Mazoori, who spoke of multiple projects VAAN successfully delivered in last year including:
- Settlement Engagement and Transition Support project that has been running as a case management and support service since July 2024.
- Youth projects
- Family Violence (that has been running since 2021 as VAAN’s longest running project)
- Successful planning and holding Nawroz Festival with 12,000+ participants on 29 March 2026
- Multiple Digital Literacy programs
- Multiple English Conversation programs
- Multiple driving education (both theory and practical) programs for women
- Multiple parenting programs for both fathers and mothers
- Capacity Building initiatives to support other Afghan community associations and including social/arts groups and sporting clubs
- And multiple other smaller projects and initiatives to support the community.
VAAN’s office has been operating since April 2022 as a hub for the Afghan community members from all ethnic and religious backgrounds and has become a symbol of unity, cohesion and inclusion for the Afghan-Australian communities.
Members were allowed to ask questions related to Mr Mazoori’s report.
The financial report was delivered by VAAN’s Treasurer, Mr Nazir Yousafi focusing on income and expenditure of VAAN and highlighting major projects such as SETS and Nawroz festival.
It was noted that this year’s Nawroz festival’s expenses were much higher than previous years to meet the demand for a better quality and secure event for all participants and also fulfill the requirements of the relevant local government and state government departments.
He thanked the local businesses who sponsored the festival and made it possible for VAAN to deliver one of the best festival with a high quality of management and programming this year!
Members were again provided an opportunity to ask questions.
The above reports were followed by VAAN’s annual election of the leadership team that was convened by Mr Aloudal and results are as follow:
President – Re-elected - Zabi Mazoori
Vice President– Re-elected- Shakoor Farahmand
Secretary – Re-elected- Ahmad Shekib Tausif
New Assistant Secretary - Kubra Gholami
Treasurer – Re-elected- Nazir Yousafi
Deputy Treasurer – Re-elected- Ali Behsudi
Mr Aloudal congratulated the newly elected and re-elected members and thanked the previously elected members for their time and commitment to the cause of supporting the community!
A reminder that all VAAN members, including the elected members, perform their duties voluntarily for the community.
Zabi Mazoori
Ali Tausif
Nazir Yousufi
Shukoor Farahmand
Ali Behsudi
Kubra Gholami
