Representatives of Alliance of Philippine Community Organisations or APCO, of West ern Sydney, the Multicultural Services of Northern Australia (MCSNA) of Alice Spring and a University of Western Sydney professor represented the Filipino community during the 3-day National Conference on Advancing National Cohesion last week, 15-17 July, at the UWS Parramatta campus.
Convened by Dr Sev Ozdowski, Director of Equity and Diversity and attended by some 400 delegates, the national conference provided a nation-wide forum to discuss and debate various issues on social cohesion.
At the opening ceremonies, the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Hon Sir Peter Cosgrove said that the University of Western Sydney is a fitting place to hold such a conference because “Western Sydney has a very diverse population and 90% of Australians support social cohesion”.
Very robust discussions and sharing of experiences characterised the conference with 18 concurrent Q&A Panel Sessions participated in by the delegates coming from the academe, government offices, community organisations and media. Dr. Cen Amores headed the APCO delegation, whilst Debbie Cooke, headed the MCSNA delegates. Prof Mary Ann Bin-Sallik -Pro-Vice Chancellor, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership of UWS who claims a strong Filipino-Aboriginal heritage (forebears from Panay Island) happily claimed Filipinos as her compatriots.
Sydney based Filipino operatic singer extraordinaire, Mr Marcus Rivera who was contracted by UWS to entertain the guests rendered a fantastic number at the Gala Dinner held at Novotel Parramatta.
APCO officers, Ruben and Dr Cen Amores and Glorina Papaioannou attended the dinner to engage with the current national leaders and social thinkers, attending the conference.RA