The Victorian Multicultural Awards for Excellence honour outstanding individuals and organisations that foster cross-cultural understanding, support migrants and refugees, and celebrate and preserve the diversity of cultures that make Victoria such a great place to live. This year, two awards were given to multicultural workers in Shepparton.
When Mezhgan Alizadah and her friends began organising casual games of soccer at Shepparton’s Ducat Reserve last November, they had to use makeshift goals from plastic water bottles.
Four months later, the now 30 person-strong group of multicultural youth and newly arrived refugees have been gifted not one soccer goal, but two, and a range of merchandise from Melbourne City Football Club.
Ethnic Council of Shepparton strategic engagement coordinator Sam Atukorala organised the sponsorship when he saw an article in the Shepparton News, calling for help to secure goals.
There is no denying Sam Atukorala is a figurehead of Shepparton’s multicultural community. His work as a strategic engagement co-ordinator and contributions to the Ethnic Council have paved the way for many new migrants to settle here.