MUSSE

Click here to view ‘A new pathway to Arts for Indigenous students’

Carlton boys pose with their soccer ball in the North Court

By Genevieve Costigan

Seventy boys racing about playing soccer, young children enthusiastically painting for an art competition, and the rhythmic beats of African drums were highlights of the University of Melbourne’s first Carlton Community Day held at the Parkville campus on Sunday 1 March.

The event was organised by the Knowledge Transfer and Partnerships Office (KTPO) as a way of reaching out to the African refugee community in the Carlton high-rise flats to make the University more accessible and break down the image of the University as remote from the local community.

Over 200 people enjoyed the day’s activities, which included soccer matches and clinics, face-painting, a children’s art competition, African drumming lessons, seminars by African students on what it is like to study at the University, a halal BBQ, and food from the Sorghum Sisters.

“Apart from the sheer fun of the day, the connections made between groups was wonderful,” says Director of Knowledge Transfer and Partnerships, Ms Helen Hayes. “For example, one of the groups taking part was Fitted for Work, which helps women prepare for the workforce, and after the Community Day six Sudanese women arrived at their warehouse to receive clothes to help them dress for job interviews.”

Dr Berhan Ahmed, from the Department of Forest and Ecosystem Science, who recently was named the Victoria Australian of the Year and who is a refugee himself, worked with the KTPO to organise the day.

“The University of Melbourne’s administration must be proud of the work and the achievement of communicating with the local communities. I am very pleased to be part of the team,” he said.

The Carlton Community Day will be an annual event to celebrate the neighbourhood’s diversity, break down barriers and raise the aspirations of refugee children to one day study at the University of Melbourne.