Five members of the community have been appointed to the newly established National Multicultural Festival Community Panel Reference Group. This Reference Group will work to strengthen engagement across Canberra's multicultural community in the lead up to the National Multicultural Festival.
2022 is the much anticipated 25th anniversary of the Festival. The Reference Group will play a key role in providing input on aspects of the overall delivery of the Festival and advice on strategies to encourage the participation of the ACT's diverse multicultural community.
Minister for Multicultural Affairs Tara Cheyne said, "The members of the Reference Group will provide valuable advice to the Festival Steering Committee on multicultural community engagement and participation strategies, language barriers, cultural sensitives and will bring other innovative ideas on how we can deliver a National Multicultural Festival and celebrate the milestone of the 25th anniversary."
Members applied to be a part of the Reference Group. They bring a wealth of experience in engaging with local community-based organisations and individuals. All members have extensive experience in community and a number of the members have made a longstanding contribution to the annual Festival.
The Community Panel Reference Group members are:
- Giovani Alvarez-Cano - Representative of the ACT Latin American Community with extensive engagement in multicultural entertainment activities within the Canberra community
- Malcolm Buchanan - President of the Scottish Heritage Council, member on the Celtic Council of Australia, contributing to previous National Multicultural Festivals as a Cultural Showcase Leader
- Jenny Mobbs - Current CEO of COTA and in this capacity has worked with a range of ethnic communities in particular senior members
- Toa Takiari - Founder of the Pacific Islander Showcase Association and a strong and vocal representative of the South Pacific Islander Community in the ACT.
- Chin Wong - Has held a long-standing role at the Canberra Multicultural Community Forum and has been involved with the Festival since 2016
