Course work - Week 3 continued

First assignment. News report on a local event with interview

Volunteer organisation Sports for Change held its third annual Community Festival at Clifton Park in Brunswick last Saturday, which aims to celebrate and promote cultural diversity through participation in sport.

 “We think there isn’t enough of that stuff going on,” said Ms Nunez, Sports for Change founder. “This provides an opportunity [for people] to get out of their safety zones… while having a bit of fun.

“We live in a country that’s so full of so many cultures, we use sport as a means to bring them together, to enjoy the diversity, to have a bit of fun. Sport should be a right for everyone.”

Ms Nunez, while acknowledging that people “tend to stick with their own” and don’t often interact with other communities, rejected suggestions that this made Australia a racist country.

“I always have problems with saying a country is categorically racist. I think the issue of racism is alive and true… there’s a lot of mis-information and mis-interpretation of events.”

The feature of the Community Festival was the seven-a-side football tournament held throughout the day. The tournament featured a record sixteen teams, doubling the number from the first festival held in 2010.

The teams, drawing players from across Melbourne and regional Victoria, represented their different cultural communities. This included teams from more established communities, such as the Irish and Chinese teams; as well teams from communities more recently arrived in Australia, such as the Bhutanese team.

 Teams from African and Middle Eastern communities were also present.

There were activities away from the pitch to keep the public entertained, with Sports for Change providing a barbeque, face painting and a merchandise and information tent. An outdoor zumba class was also held.

Providing a backdrop to the day was a selection of music from the different communities as well as some more popular tunes to inspire the competitors. The Ambulance Victoria Pipe Band and members from the Brunswick Community Gospel Choir also performed.

Speaking on the day, local MP Jane Garrett described the festival as a “wonderful event and cause to be part of” as it helped to “bring people closer together” by “celebrating the spirit of sport.”

The day also received positive feedback from the players and public, with one member of the Afghani team, the Hazaras, saying the event definitely brings communities closer together, and that they would like to come back next year, even though they live in Ballarat.