More than 100 faith, education and community leaders shared stories and celebrated diversity at a recent event in Wollongong.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The seventh Community Leaders Iftar Celebration was organised by the University of Wollongong and Amity College.
Iftar is the meal eaten after sunset during Sawm, the fasting that occurs during the holy month of Ramadan.
Amity College Illawarra principal Dr Mehmet Aslan said Iftar meals were a symbol of friendship, understanding and social harmony.
He said the aim of the dinner was to offer reflections on creating and sustaining meaningful relationships across diverse cultural communities.
"It is an understatement to say that gatherings such as tonight are essential in our secular democracies," Dr Aslan said.
"I'm sure we will all acknowledge that there remains a substantial amount of work to build stronger bridges and overcome prejudice, but as educational and community leaders, let us continue to promote social harmony and create respectful communities."
Wollongong lawyer Hayley Kelloway provided a speech on the topic of Ramadan and Social Harmony.
She stated "as a Muslim, it is really warming to know that people of different faiths, cultures and nationalities - acknowledge and respect, our adherence and participation in this blessed month".
Professor Alison Jones, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Health and Communities) gave an enlightening speech on the topic of social harmony amongst cultures.
She reflected on her own Welsh background and taught the audience about 'croeso', the Welsh word for welcome and shared a personal story of the unity and compassion.
Attendees were also treated to a choir performance by Amity College Illawarra students, as well as the live artworks of Ebru master, Fatih Sultan Kose.
Ebru is a traditional Turkish painting art (also known as marbling), in which colourful patterns are created by sprinkling and brushing color pigments on a pan of oily water and then transforming this pattern to paper.