About Us
Our History
Our History
Our History
Founded in 2015, AAI is a Victoria wide venture based in Dandenong seek to assist in bringing together and creating common ground among the many communities in this state.
Our Vision
Our History
Our History
A tolerant, pluralistic, free and well informed world where every person can live a safe and dignified life.
Our Mission
Our History
Our Mission
We regard our work as a contribution to the ocean of humanity. We want to increase the mutual understanding and we communicate with you by our heart.
Meet Our Team
Ali Yaghobi
President
Prior to arriving in Australia in May 2013, Ali worked for four years with Afghanistan’s National Environmental Protection Agency. Since settling in Australia, he has been actively engaged in the community sector, bringing extensive experience across local government, education, research, and community development.
Ali has held a range of professional roles, including Community Educator with the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria; Multicultural Education Aide at Noble Park English Language School; Field Researcher with Colmar Brunton; Program Worker – Community Leadership Development at the Southern Migrant and Refugee Centre (SMRC) in Dandenong; Work Broker with AMES Australia; Coordinator and Client Services Officer with Casey City Council; and Diversity and Inclusion Officer with Glen Eira City Council.
He is a co-founder of the Australia Afghanistan Initiative, where he previously served as Secretary and Treasurer. Ali has also contributed extensively through volunteer leadership roles, including as a member of the City of Greater Dandenong Multicultural Advisory Board (2016–2018), the Victorian Multicultural Commission Regional Advisory Council (February 2024–present), and the City of Casey Disability and Access Advisory Group (2024–2025).
Ali is currently in the final year of his Master’s degree in International Community Development at Victoria University and is completing a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment at Chisholm TAFE (Melbourne).
In December 2025, Ali was inducted into the Victorian Multicultural Honour Roll in recognition of his contributions to social cohesion and his efforts to bring communities together, at a ceremony hosted by the Governor of Victoria.
Amina Haidarzada
Vice President
Amina moved to Australia from Afghanistan in 2024. She is currently continuing her studies at Chisholm Dandenong. She holds a bachelor degree in Economics.
In Afghanistan, she worked with several national and international organisations including HEME Fund Afghanistan between 2018 and August 2021.
Nazer Nazir
Co-Founder and Secretary
Nazer completed his Masters Degree in Law and Development at Melbourne University. He holds a Bachelor in Business Administration from Afghanistan.
Nazer's leadership and volunteering was acknowledged in Victoria’s Multicultural Awards for Excellence 2016. He received the Victorian Multicultural Honour Roll in a ceremony hosted in the Governor House from the then Governor of Victoria, the Hon Linda on Thursday 13 October 2016.
Nazer is also a member of the Ministerial Settlement Advisory Council at the Department of Home Affairs. He previously served as a member of the Advisory Panel on Australia’s Resettlement of Afghanistan Nationals. Nazer works with the Department of Premier and Cabinet. He previously worked with the Department of Education, Colmar Brunton, AMES Australia, Red Cross Australia, CBM Australia and the City of Casey Council. Nazer was Assistant to the Australian Ambassador in Kabul, Afghanistan, from 2009-2014. Previously, he worked for the European Union, Afghan President Office, Handicap International France and a local NGO, all in Kabul, at various capacities from 2002 to 2009. Nazer is a graduate of Victoria Leadership 2016.
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Rob Wood
Director and Senior Advisor
Rob Wood has been advising and mentoring the AAI leadership team since April 2015. Rob has been the host of the international community at the Australia-Pacific Centre for Initiatives Of Change for 28 years. He co-ordinated the Life Matters life-directions and leadership course in Melbourne for 20 plus years.
He has been a member of other boards including Lentil As Anything and Possible Dreams International. He has traveled extensively in the Asia Pacific region developing leadership potential through Life Direction and Leadership programs for young people.
Naser Fekrat
Co-Founder and CEO
Naser is currently doing a Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. He holds bachelor of Law and Political Science majoring in Diplomacy and International Law from Kabul University. He worked for 7 years as a public servant and diplomat for the Afghanistan government. Since 2014, he has worked in local government as an Access and Support Officer, Governance Officer and Senior Access and Inclusion Officer and co-designed the employment pathways for parents from CALD background. Naser worked as an Advocate in the Child Protection space. Naser currently works at Brotherhood of St Laurence and he previously worked with AMES, Colmar Brunton, Department of Health and Human Services, and Southern Migrants and Refugee Centre. Naser actively participated in a community reference group with representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Premier and Cabinet and co-designed a community engagement and early response model and Komak a community led initiative established in 2017. Naser was a Komak reference group member from 2017-2020. Naser was a founder and President of Australia Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce in Melbourne and facilitated business connections and established the Migrapreneur Startup Ecosystem, supporting refugees, asylum seekers, and migrant entrepreneurs in Melbourne.
He is co-founder and previously served as Treasurer, President and Secretary of AAI.
Amin Vakili
Member
Amin Vakili is a successful businessperson and a loving father and husband. Amin is originally from Kabul, Afghanistan where he started his school education. Due to the war in the late 1980s, his family was forced into exile in the neighboring countries, where he restarted his education. While in exile, he completed his school education and started his Master's degree in Political Science in Iran. During that period, he remained an active student activist, supporting Afghan refugee youth in Iran as well as working in a garment factory.
In 2004, as the situation started changing, he returned to Afghanistan to participate in the rebuilding process of his country. He worked in the public and education sectors for seven years before he was again forced into exile. In 2012, he and his family were formally accepted as refugees in New Zealand. Since then, he studied a Business diploma at the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, which is now the ARA Institute of Canterbury, and after that, he has started managing an auto parts business. Besides that, he has been actively supporting and leading the local Afghan community, organizing social, educational, and wellbeing activities for community members, including youth and women. He volunteered with the Changemaker Refugee Forum in Wellington, New Zealand for four years. In 2024, he and his family decided to move to Melbourne and later joined AAI in that year.