The community of the West came together to recognise the start of Cultural Diversity Week with a morning tea celebration at the Multiplex Connectivity Centre in Footscray last Friday.  

The annual event run by the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation featured a keynote address by Sikh Volunteers Australia co-founder Jaswinder Singh, and a panel discussion featuring influential community members, moderated by Maria Dimopoulos AM. 

The discussion explored a number of topics relating to this year’s theme of Connecting Through Culture including equity, allyship and community connectivity. 

The panel was comprised of the youngest Mayor in City of Maribyrnong history, Cr. Mayor Anthony Tran, author and community leader Shemsiya Waritu, and Co-founder of Friends for Good and Project Officer at the Multiplex Footscray Connectivity Centre, Laura Rouhan. 

As well as the informative and inspiring speech and panel discussion, attendees were entertained with a traditional Ethiopian Dance Performance by the Habesha Dance Group, which saw a number of crowd members get out of their comfort zone and join in. 

Morning tea at the event was provided by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s Social Enterprise catering service, which creates pathways to employment for people seeking asylum. 

Western Bulldogs Diversity and Youth Manager Simon Rodder, said the event was a wonderful celebration of the rich diversity in our community.  

“We are so lucky to be in a community that is home to people from across the globe, all of who add so much,” Rodder said. 

“The event was a celebration of that and it was certainly special to be in a room full of people who are working to harness that diversity for good.”