30 October 2015
The atmosphere of the Jeffrey Smart building at the University of South Australia on the morning of The Hawke EU Centre’s Welcome Workshop event on the 16th September 2015 was filled with the emotion. As people shared their stories of arrival, others sat in silence, in awe of people’s journeys to a better life and the struggles they endured to feel welcome in their new home. The Hawke EU Centre for Mobilities, Migrations and Cultural Transformations instigated the Welcome Workshop to discuss topics of arrival, welcome and place making in an Australian context. It was designed to be a community led discussion with representatives from various organisations who would encourage questions and proposals to assist the social inclusion of new Australians. Participants included local council members from Marion and Charles Sturt, representatives from the UNESCO Network including UNESCO Chair in Transnational, Diaspora and Reconciliation Studies, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, and a variety of South Australian organisations supporting the resettlement of new Australians.