Tuesday, 30 April 2024

Southern Metropolitan Region multicultural communities

Ryan BATCHELOR (Southern Metropolitan) (14:47): Southern Metro is home to a range of vibrant multicultural groups, and I have recently had the privilege of being part of their cultural celebrations. Recently, on behalf of the Premier, I was honoured to attend the Gangaur festival of Rajasthani Kutumb of Victoria, RAJKOV, at the Caulfield Racecourse. Gangaur is a significant religious and cultural festival for the Rajasthani community after the 18 days of Holi. There were some amazing Rajasthani folk artists and singers from overseas who attended, and the event was full of colour and dance. I had the great privilege of being able to host some of the performers here for a tour of Parliament House prior to it.

I also had the privilege of joining the Tamil Club and the Sri Lankan Students Association at Swinburne University for their Puthandu and Avurudu new year celebrations. The event held on campus was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Tamil tradition and culture, including some fantastic dancing, and to showcase energetic and majestic performances from young leaders in these communities. Organisations like RAJKOV and these student clubs are an important network to support multicultural communities and celebrate and showcase their fantastic culture right here in Victoria.