Girl Guides Victoria (GGV) was invited to attend the Victorian Multicultural Commission’s key events for Cultural Diversity Week this year. Multicultural Week festivities culminated in a weekend of activities, food and new friendships at Grazeland in Spotswood on 28th and 29th March.
The two events included a special formal celebration on Saturday evening and a fun, exploratory activation on Sunday for girls, women, and their families.
The Saturday event provided a perfect opportunity to meet many community leaders across Victoria who share the same broad vision– creating a thriving community for all. Minister Stitt and Vivienne Nguyten, Chair of the VMC, were pleased to have GGV represented for the first time at this special event.
Some great feedback was received from visitors, including the Honorary Consul of Fiji, Silvia Combe, who explained that Girl Guides “is huge in Fiji – it would be great to see the community connect to GGV here also.”
Sunday was all about meeting the visitors. GGV had a lovely, large marquee full of carefully selected activities and information for all to experience. A range of activities brought in curious children, their parents and caregivers to enjoy a choice of play-oriented, problem-solving tasks and, of course, learn more about GGV. The tasks also celebrated the richness of diversity and creating a connected community.
The weekend, built around the 21st March, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, certainly affirmed just how wonderful it is when everyone comes together in the spirit of belonging and shared responsibility for creating a better world for the next generation.
If anyone is interested in using/adapting activation activities for their own events, please contact community@girlguidesvic.org.au.