July 12, 2019

Cohesion sparkles in Refugee Week

Broadmeadows came to the party at the Refugee Week Cohesion festival, at the Hume Global Learning Centre, on Friday 21st June.

Welcomed by Mayor Carly Swan, and the Federal Member for Caldwell, Maria Vamvakinou, the Cohesion Festival burst to life, with an official Welcome to Country by Uncle Colin Hunter.  Uncle Colin led the audience in a smoking ceremony, welcoming people of all ages, stages and from all over the world, to walk through the smoke, which under Aboriginal custom is thought to offer cleansing properties, to ward off bad spirits and make a pathway for a brighter future.

The Annual Refugee Week Cohesion Festival is a fabulous local celebration of many cultures thriving together in the North and West suburbs of Melbourne, and create a world of welcome, during refugee Week.

Over the course of the day participants were treated to a superb program of performances including a Kwame, Krown, RoR, Outer Urban Projects, Omar Pervaiz, True Culture, Choir for Humanity, Adeep Al Iraqi, Steven Jalil, Melinday Gbiadiah and Milad Norouzi, Dance Alliance, the Assyrian dancers and Nagmeler, a classicalTurkish Choir.

Families and young children were well entertained with a children’s activity room, face painting and roving entertainment, while Masters of Ceremony Gabby Farkhi and Mubarek Imam, ensured everyone felt included and guided throughout the day.

Cohesion 2019 aims to celebrate local cultural diversity and promote stronger engagement between communities and the service providers, available in the local area to support communities.

The event included a services expo, with 25 local service providers showcasing their services, meeting new people and working together.

The event was brought to fruition as a result of lengthy planning by a working group that included Spectrum, Hume City Council, the Department of Human Services, DPV Health, the Brotherhood of St. Lawrence, Uniting, Save the Children, Metropolitan Fire Brigade and Victoria Police.

Click through to enjoy the video wrap of the celebration.

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