Cultures unite at beachside extravaganza
Fri 04 November 2011
Lauren Grounsell, Bachelor of Journalism
Caloundra’s Happy Valley was abuzz with exotic dancing, music and food as the Sunshine Coast celebrated all things global at the 2011 Festuri Multicultural festival.
Held in conjunction with Caloundra Music Festival on Saturday and Sunday, October 8 and 9, 2011, Festuri hosted “The Village” carnival to encourage the Sunshine Coast community to celebrate its cultural and linguistic diversity.
The AMP and the Nation Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) Income Report 2010 said Australia was leading the way in multiculturalism with one quarter of the population born overseas
Held in conjunction with Caloundra Music Festival on Saturday and Sunday, October 8 and 9, 2011, Festuri hosted “The Village” carnival to encourage the Sunshine Coast community to celebrate its cultural and linguistic diversity.
The AMP and the Nation Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) Income Report 2010 said Australia was leading the way in multiculturalism with one quarter of the population born overseas
Statistics on the Sunshine Coast were not far behind.
The 2006 Australian Bureaus of Statistics revealed 1 in 6 people living on the Coast were born overseas.
The 2006 Australian Bureaus of Statistics revealed 1 in 6 people living on the Coast were born overseas.
Of these, 5.9 per cent were from countries of a non-English speaking background, a statistic that highlighted the importance of creating cultural awareness within the community.
Festuri is a not for profit organisation on the Sunshine Coast which focused on the annual multicultural festival that is currently in its 12th year.
Festuri secretary Terri Shine played an integral role in organising the 2011 festival, and believed celebrating diversity helped create understanding between cultures differing standards and values.
“The festival provides the general community the opportunities to informally and in a non-threatening way, positive [sic] interact with people of other cultures,” Ms Shine said.
“It is anticipated that this positive interaction provides shared understanding, awareness and celebration of cultural diversity.”
Most Sunshine Coast residents were unaware of how exceptionally diverse the coast was, with 2006 ABS statistics revealing residents coming from 156 different countries, 148 of which are non-English speaking countries.
Ms Shine believes it was important for migrants to maintain balance between accepting Australian culture and keeping their own cultural heritage alive.
“It is very important that they maintain cultural customs as well as adjust to living in Australia,” Ms Shine said.
“Many studies and research show that for young people coming up through Australian culture, for their health and being, they need to understand their cultural background and identify with their culture.”
One way for migrants to maintain a strong connection with their culture was to share their heritage with others, something the “The Village” strongly encourages.
HedaBatik creator Heda Bailey was one lady who loves to share her passion for her Indonesian culture through her artwork-batik.
Originally from West Java in Indonesia, Ms Bailey used batik to introduce Australians to Indonesian culture, and viewed Batik as being Indonesia’s most cultural resource.
Ms Bailey held a workshop at “The Village” and encouraged everyone to take part in her art form.
“Batik is not about talent, it is all about patience,” Ms Bailey said.
Festuri is a not for profit organisation on the Sunshine Coast which focused on the annual multicultural festival that is currently in its 12th year.
Festuri secretary Terri Shine played an integral role in organising the 2011 festival, and believed celebrating diversity helped create understanding between cultures differing standards and values.
“The festival provides the general community the opportunities to informally and in a non-threatening way, positive [sic] interact with people of other cultures,” Ms Shine said.
“It is anticipated that this positive interaction provides shared understanding, awareness and celebration of cultural diversity.”
Most Sunshine Coast residents were unaware of how exceptionally diverse the coast was, with 2006 ABS statistics revealing residents coming from 156 different countries, 148 of which are non-English speaking countries.
Ms Shine believes it was important for migrants to maintain balance between accepting Australian culture and keeping their own cultural heritage alive.
“It is very important that they maintain cultural customs as well as adjust to living in Australia,” Ms Shine said.
“Many studies and research show that for young people coming up through Australian culture, for their health and being, they need to understand their cultural background and identify with their culture.”
One way for migrants to maintain a strong connection with their culture was to share their heritage with others, something the “The Village” strongly encourages.
HedaBatik creator Heda Bailey was one lady who loves to share her passion for her Indonesian culture through her artwork-batik.
Originally from West Java in Indonesia, Ms Bailey used batik to introduce Australians to Indonesian culture, and viewed Batik as being Indonesia’s most cultural resource.
Ms Bailey held a workshop at “The Village” and encouraged everyone to take part in her art form.
“Batik is not about talent, it is all about patience,” Ms Bailey said.
“One design can take more than a year to make.”
The designs are rich in Indonesian culture as they hold specific symbolic meaning and life values, and even the process of making batik contains moral lessons and deep meanings.
By holding these events, Indonesian customs and languages were retained, something Festuri strongly encouraged.
To encourage young people of culturally diverse and linguistic backgrounds, FESTURI also offered an annual bursary of $A500.00 to students who were in year twelve or planned to complete tertiary studies after completing secondary schooling.
These groups could offer a network of support to help people who were facing language difficulties or were having trouble securing a job due to lack of references or unrecognised qualifications.
“We are all from diverse backgrounds somewhere along the line of (our) heritage and that is worth celebrating.”
The designs are rich in Indonesian culture as they hold specific symbolic meaning and life values, and even the process of making batik contains moral lessons and deep meanings.
By holding these events, Indonesian customs and languages were retained, something Festuri strongly encouraged.
To encourage young people of culturally diverse and linguistic backgrounds, FESTURI also offered an annual bursary of $A500.00 to students who were in year twelve or planned to complete tertiary studies after completing secondary schooling.
These groups could offer a network of support to help people who were facing language difficulties or were having trouble securing a job due to lack of references or unrecognised qualifications.
“We are all from diverse backgrounds somewhere along the line of (our) heritage and that is worth celebrating.”
Image(s) designed by Lauren Grounsell
Enter comments about this article
Submitted Comments
Very well-written and informative article Lauren. I had no idea the Sunshine Coast was so multi-cultural.
Marie Madden