Bianca Elmir: Champion of Diversity

Posted on 21 October, 2015

The 16 of November 2015 is the United Nations International Day for Tolerance, and coincides perfectly with the launch of the ACT Human Rights Commission’s latest campaign, ‘Diversity goes with our Territory’.

The campaign, launched primarily over social media, will celebrate our diversity as a city, and will feature prominent Canberrans sharing their own experiences of cultural diversity using the hashtag #diversitygoeswith.

One such prominent Canberran is Bianca Elmir, who is not only the current Oceania Bantamweight Champion, but also one of the campaign’s Champions of Diversity. I first crossed paths with Bianca in February 2014 when I tried out her Women’s Boxing Classes at Stockade Training Centre. Despite her success in what is quite an aggressive sport by nature, I found Bianca to be a gentle and supportive instructor and a kind, down to earth young woman.

It’s obvious why the ACT Human Rights Commission selected Bianca for the position of Champion of Diversity. Not only is she an excellent role model as an elite athlete, but also like many of our residents, Bianca has a culturally diverse background, born in Lebanon and raised in Canberra.

“I come from an Islamic Arabic background, and I grew up here in Narrabundah” explains Bianca.

“I’ve experienced a lot of different things in my life: I’ve travelled a lot, I lived in South Africa for two years and I’ve represented Australia internationally, as a boxer and as a kick boxer as well. Most recently, I just finished performing in a circus!”

The performance, titled No Punchline, is ‘inspired by women who defy the rules and pay their own game’.

“I had to do a lot of shadow boxing and pad rounds” says Bianca, “and then I also had a script that I performed in front of 160 or so people, every night for five nights. It was really successful.”

So successful, in fact, that the performance won the 2015 Best Circus Award.

Bianca is a seasoned performer, although typically in a different arena. Following a win on the weekend, Bianca has a string of fights on the horizon, both nationally and internationally.

“This weekend I’m going to Sydney to fight, the next weekend I’m going to the central coast to have another fight, and then the following weekend I’m travelling to Bulgaria to box in an international women’s competition. Afterwards I’ll come back and go straight to Queensland for the National Championships which are the qualifier for the World Championships next year.”

“The next couple of months are going to be pretty full on for my boxing. It’s going to be pretty demanding.”

Equally impressive is Bianca’s commitment to improving the lives of others through her role as a youth worker, caring for at-risk young people in residential care.

“We do therapeutic care for children who’ve been neglected by their families or where their families have been unable to care for them, so we work to provide them with the best care that we can.”

Bianca says that while providing full time care for children challenges her on a daily basis, the rewards are well worth it.

“To see the result of your care, to see these children reach some really big milestones like going to school or even something simple like showering every day is just so rewarding.”

Bianca also hopes to mentor Canberrans through her role as a Champion of Diversity.

“I’m really grateful” she says. “The campaign aligns very closely with own values, I’m proud to be able to represent that. To connect people through conversations about their own cultural diversity is a really positive thing.”

If you love the sound of the campaign and would like to share and celebrate your own diversity, be sure to get on to Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and use the hashtag #diversitygoeswith.