Page 3898 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 19 September 2017
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ensure all aspects of the footprint comply with regulatory, safety and security requirements. The festival team is negotiating to secure a suitable headline act and supporting acts as well as attract new corporate sponsors. They are reviewing procurement contracts and collaborating with Volunteering and Contact ACT to develop a revised plan to engage volunteers.
The festival program for the 2018 event will be available in January. The program will be accessible in printed format via the National Multicultural Festival website and via the smartphone app.
MR STEEL: Minister, how can local multicultural communities and organisations apply to participate in the festival?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Mr Steel for his supplementary question. There is always a great deal of interest in participating in the festival, and many multicultural communities plan year round for their involvement. Applications are currently open to those who wish to participate in the festival as an entertainer or a stallholder. Spaces are available to not-for-profit community groups and local businesses hosting food stalls across the weekend; for diplomatic missions on Saturday, 17 February; and for information stalls for promotional or educational purposes on Sunday, 18 February. Local multicultural community groups who wish to showcase their cultural traditions through performances will be given preference in the allocation of performance slots on the stages during the 2018 festival.
Applications to participate in the festival as an entertainer or stallholder are received by the SmartyGrants online application platform. Applicants can access the platform by following the link available on the National Multicultural Festival website, which also hosts copies of the participation policy and the terms and conditions for stallholders and entertainment participants. Applications close at midnight on 30 September 2017. An assessment panel will convene to review the applications and determine the entertainment program and the allocation of stalls. The outcomes of these processes will be announced over the coming months.
To ensure that there is an opportunity for broader community participation in the festival, a communication plan has been developed to circulate information throughout the Canberra region. In addition to a notice in the weekly multicultural e-newsletter, each of last year’s participants has been sent an email inviting them to participate again in 2018. There has also been a mail-out to embassies and high commissions.
MS CHEYNE: Minister, what is the government doing to ensure that the 2018 Multicultural Festival builds on the successes of the 2017 Multicultural Festival?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Ms Cheyne for her supplementary question. In 2017, 4½ thousand volunteers gave their time during the Multicultural Festival to ensure that the celebration ran smoothly and was successfully enjoyed by the more than 280,000 people who flocked to the heart of Canberra over just one weekend. The 2017 festival was more inclusive and welcoming than ever before, with special
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