Melton’s multicultural youth were celebrated at a sports festival at Catholic Regional College last week.
Headed by the Centre for Multicultural Youth, the festival was organised by Le Mana Pasifika Youth Ambassadors and South Sudanese Community Support Group Youth Leadership Program members.
The three-day, youth-led festival was targeted towards Pasifika and African young people aged 12 to 25 as a way to bring the communities together.
Event organiser Tyson Tuala said the event was a way to “connect sporting culture with community culture”.
“The idea is that we preach you should play together, work together, be one society but, let’s really focus in on it specifically for those young people.”
The event has been in the works since April, with COVID restrictions making the planning of the event difficult.
“Obviously this is one of the hardest events we’ve had to organise because of the COVID environment,” Mr Tuala said.
“The risk and the hurdles we’ve had to jump through to make this possible is a highlight for me.”
Mr Tuala also said the Melton community has come together to help organise the event in the current climate.
“I really want to make a point that the police, school and organisations are supporting these cohorts coming together.
“We’re keeping it nice and small and make sure we have a great time and get it done properly.”
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Sarah Oliver
