Page 30 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 9 February 2010
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we have met the challenges. We have delivered a three-day wonderful spectacular for the people of the ACT and we have delivered on our commitments. We were well able to accommodate full and rich community participation within a defined festival footprint within the heart of Civic. This has made for a vibrant event as well as having the benefit of containing infrastructure and associated costs.
I acknowledge that Canberra benefits from our National Multicultural Festival. Indeed, this year there was a focus on ensuring that older people, young people, women and refugees were especially engaged and supported to participate in the festival. On the number of times I passed by the sanctuary and dropped in, it was really well attended and supported, and it was good to see space for people who needed time out with young families or older Canberrans.
It can be just one encounter with a particular culture during an event such as this which can trigger significant and lifelong changes for families and individuals. This in turn helps to build a more inclusive society and can uncover a new level of understanding in each of us.
As we move forward from this thrilling experience, the future of the National Multicultural Festival in all its facets is very much at the centre of my thoughts. In this regard, I have asked the Office of Multicultural Affairs to draw on the discussions with stallholders, embassies, organisers, sponsors and the visitors who came and who were surveyed at the event. I have no doubt that this feedback will celebrate the progress we have made. It will reaffirm our commitment to the festival and provide a measure for future challenges.
When everybody is having so much fun, it is easy to forget that successful festivals like this do not organise themselves but are the coming together of many months of hard work behind the scenes by people working collaboratively across the ACT government and the community sector. So I would like to personally thank all of the staff within the Department of Disability, Housing and Community Services and the Office of Multicultural Affairs for their efforts; the 100-plus volunteers who made the festival and the three days work so successfully; the stallholders that again showed their commitment to the festival; and the embassies and the diplomatic corps for their support.
There is no doubt that the 2010 National Multicultural Festival was a success, thanks to the efforts of organisers, community groups, the diplomatic community and the sponsors. I would like to reiterate my praise for sponsors who through their financial support have shown such faith in our festival. Social and economic participation is often spoken of but rarely realised. The level of community engagement in the festival highlights that Canberra is truly a multicultural community—a cohesive, strong community with a great understanding of ourselves and each other.
Just before I finish I would like to read extracts from a couple of emails already received from performers. One says:
We had a fantastic time performing at the festival this year. It is a credit to you and your whole team who have put a wonderful festival. It was very well organised and all the volunteers and organisers were friendly, helped out with our needs on the day. Congratulations and well done.
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