MELBOURNE, 12 February 2023: Members of the Australian community today gathered at the Gurdwara Siri Guru Nanak Darbar in Officer, Victoria, to participate in an event aimed at promoting unity and compassion, and condemning all forms of hate and violence.
Over 50 participants from the Sikh and Hindu communities, took part in the event, which was attended by Vivienne Nguyen, Chairperson, Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC) and Hakan Akyol, Senior Executive Advisor.
The event began with a speech by Harpreet Singh, who introduced the Joint Harmony Statement and discussed its relevance in upholding Australian values. This was followed by a speech by Commissioner Nguyen, who praised the initiative and emphasized the importance of social cohesion within the community.
All attendees then had the opportunity to sign the Joint Harmony Statement (https://bit.ly/joint-harmony-statement-aus) to show solidarity and community spirit, the attendees participated in volunteering (Seva) at the Gurdwara by helping prepare and serve a community meal (Langar) and cleaning dishes. This act of volunteerism further strengthened the bond between the communities and demonstrated their commitment to working together towards a more harmonious society.
This event serves as a powerful example of how communities can come together, even in challenging times, to promote unity, compassion, and understanding. The Joint Harmony Statement and the efforts of all participants aim at sending a strong message that hate and violence have no place in our Australian society and that all members of the community stand united against such behaviours.
The focus group and organisers of the event hope that this initiative will encourage other communities in Australia to take similar steps. The attendees also discussed other ideas to bring communities together to promote mutual respect, unity, compassion, understanding and trust.
