From left, Ngwe and Aye Aung from Burma, Stella from Sri Lanka, Shaza from Iraq and Awilli from Sudan at the Multicultural Week celebrations. 70796 Picture: JOE MASTROIANNI
By XAVIER SMERDON
VICTORIA University’s Werribee campus could have been mistaken for a meeting of the United Nations last week as people from more than 22 different nationalities got together to celebrate Multicultural Week.
Students from the university’s Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), which provides free English language courses to migrants and refugees, celebrated the diversity of the campus by enjoying cultural games, musical performances and food from around the world.
Victoria University English language Senior Educator, Greg Thom, said the event was a great opportunity for the students to share their pride in their cultural traditions with the community.
“It was absolutely great, even better than we expected,” Mr Thom said.
“It was great to see the group of 20 or 30 African women in their traditional clothes up and dancing and having a great time.”
Mr Thom said a personal highlight of the day was seeing a performance from an Ethiopian singer. “He sang some Ethiopian and Sudanese songs and had everyone up and dancing,” he said.
Students participating in the event represent a range of communities including Burmese, Sudanese, Somali, Vietnamese, Chin and Hakha-Chin Burmese.
The AMEP is the Australian Government’s largest settlement program offering classes to a broad range of newcomers from different cultures and countries.
Visit tls.vu.edu.au for more information on the Adult Migrant English Program.
