Official Residences
Government House, Canberra Admiralty House, Sydney
more »Ladies and gentlemen, I acknowledge the traditional keepers of this magnificent land and give thanks to all those who have tended to it so carefully and affectionately over many generations.
I am really thrilled to be in Toowoomba for a celebration:
that warmly welcomes the people of this city and district
and embraces the support of leading community and business organisations that have worked for a long time here to improve the wellbeing of individuals and families.
Now in its fifth year, the Toowoomba Languages and Cultures Festival is an honest and joyous reflection of local life:
a rich and fascinating montage of cultures and languages drawn from
North-Western Europe, Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Southern and Central Asia, the Americas, and this state and country;
indeed, it is a proud snapshot of broader contemporary Australia,
and a wonderful example of our growing interest in and respect for our shared and separate stories,
that have evolved over tens, hundreds, thousands of years,
and those that are yet to unfold.
Through music, dance, film, art, literature and food, we are exploring ways of deepening this mutual sense of our diversity and of our common humanity.
And through simple daily acts of living, working, learning and playing alongside one another we are coming to see and understand more about our neighbours and ourselves.
This is the process of community building:
listening
observing
remembering
keeping alive the stories of lives lived and places cherished
and allowing new lives to emerge in new places
all of it, part of a continuing, shared human experience
a neighbourliness on which true citizenship is based.
And this festival is a celebration of your sincere commitment and effort towards each of these things.
The Toowoomba Regional Council
Toowoomba International Multicultural Society
The Modern Languages Teachers’ Association of Queensland
Mercy Family Services
Lifeline Darling Downs
The West African Alliance
and the myriad community and cultural organisations, businesses, and individuals who have contributed to making this day happen,
I express my greatest admiration and praise:
for your support and nurture of human dignity and unique language and culture
for encouraging each of us to give and receive, generously and graciously
for strengthening our tolerance, understanding and appreciation of differences between people
and for your leadership in fostering inclusiveness, cohesion, openness, and harmony from diversity.
My friends, we are many faces of one world:
In the whole web woven of the being of the world
Each of us has a place,
A small corner of the tapestry uniquely ours,
Spun in with our times and those around us.
We weave our own corner into its own shape
And all the tiny shapes become the whole…
Until all are part of one another.
Each touches the whole and becomes a part of it…
…touches and changes
the skirts of the universe.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is with pleasure and fond wishes that I now declare open the 2010 Toowoomba Languages and Cultures Festival.
