More than 100 people came together on Wednesday evening to celebrate refugee week with a community dinner at the Bendigo Art Gallery.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The dinner was organised in joint partnership between Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services and Bendigo Art Gallery, and drew together refugee, migrant and established communities.
Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services chairperson Abhishek Awasthi said the event celebrated the contributions made by people of refugee backgrounds.
“We are an organisation run for and by migrants and refugees,” he said.
“It is therefore with great pleasure that we celebrate refugee week together today, and acknowledge the many contributions of people from refugee backgrounds to our community.”
The event included tours of the art gallery, speeches, dinner and opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds to get to know one another better.
LCMS executive officer Kate McInnes said it was fantastic to see so many diverse groups and people at the event.
“Many people came up to me afterwards to say they felt a real buzz of excitement in the room, with conversation, laughter and friendships blossoming across cultures, faiths and languages,” she said.
“It goes to show we have much more in common than we think.”
A diverse group of organisations and communities were present at the event, including LCMS, Rural Australians for Refugees, Bendigo Friends and Mentors, Young People for Refugees, Grandmothers Against Detention, Home among the Gumtrees, the Interfaith Council, Bendigo Islamic Association, the South Sudanese community, the community from Afghanistan, La Trobe University, the Karen Community, the Bendigo Filipino Friendship Group, Bendigo Community Health Services, the Bendigo Art Gallery Board and staff.
Refugee Week is Australia’s peak annual activity to celebrate the positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society. The first Refugee Week events were organised in Sydney in 1986.