Bendigo’s multicultural community is calling for a dedicated hub to celebrate the city’s ethnic diversity.
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Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services executive officer Kate McInnes said there was a need for a hub, to cater for a growing multicultural population.
“There is a strong need to have a location that is owned by multicultural communities, where they can celebrate cultural events and share their culture,” Ms McInnes said.
Ms McInnes said with a “changing demographic comes changing needs”.
“The City of Greater Bendigo’s population is changing and is increasingly becoming more culturally diverse,” Ms McInnes said.
According to census data from 2016, approximately 25 per cent of the city’s population was born overseas, or has one parent born overseas.
Multicultural Services will have the opportunity to apply for a Victorian government Multicultural Community Infrastructure Fund grant which supports the building, upgrading and fit-out of new facilities.
“We are still in the process of reading the guidelines for the grant and we need to have discussions with our member organisations and partners,” Ms McInnes said.
“We’re interested in the opportunity this grant holds to continue the planning process to make a multicultural hub a reality in Bendigo.”
There is currently no specific space for groups to gather, with some having appeared to be discriminated against when trying to book venues throughout the city, while other emerging groups cannot afford to hire local halls or find the booking process difficult.
Multicultural Services chair Abhishek Awasthi also believed there was a need for a multicultural hub.
“It’s very important that we have a space where all culturally diverse communities can come together to share their cultures, food, music and arts with each other, and the wider community,” Mr Awasthi said.
Beyond the potential hub providing a location for events, it would act as a centre, providing multicultural education to the community.
Hardeep Singh was born in northern India and has been living and working in Bendigo for the last three years.
“I feel very proud to live in Bendigo, where people are accepted regardless of religion or background,” Mr Singh said.
“It would be great to have a place where we can all come together to celebrate.”
