News Student Leadership
25 October 2023
We are pleased to announce that we had 30 eager Secondary students volunteering their Sunday afternoon to support Whittlesea Interfaith Network (Win) hosting their the annual "Carnival of Connections".
The colourful event held at the Epping Memorial Hall on last Sunday, 22th October celebrated the diverse multicultural diversity and harmony within our City of Whittlesea. Some 450 – 500 attendees were treated to cultural performances from Filipino, Nepalese, Punjabi, Sri Lankan and Chaldean performances, including a Malay percussion show by our very own SSD staff member Mr Hafidi and fellow friends from Kampung Utara Melbourne (KUM). It was wonderful to see many members of our school community at the event, including stall holders and adding to the beautiful displays of colourful traditional outfits.
Whittlesea Interfaith Network is a not for profit community organisation operating in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. WIN has a long and proud history of developing platforms for Interfaith dialogue in the City of Whittlesea with the aim of promoting peace, understanding and harmony across faith and culture.
The event was MC'ed by WIN President Gurinder Kaur and Amrita Gurung from Nepalese Neighbourhood Community. The Hon. Andrew Giles MP, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, was the keynote speaker, reminding the audience that "we have so much more in common than what divides us, and we gain so much in our individual lives by seeing the world through the perspective of other people".
Our Secondary student volunteers helped out at the event for the duration of 5 hours each, with a variety of different tasks from event decorations and setup to kitchen hands and serving food to applying free henna and face painting to the delight of both children and adults alike.
BBA (Hon)
Tanja joined the College in 2010 in its second year and helped set-up and establish procedures for the administration office. She has been looking after the front school office and new enrolments, being the first point of contact for students and parents for many years. Her role has changed to the College's Content & Relations Lead in mid-2019. Tanja is also one of the College's Sustainability Coordinators.
She was born in Germany where she attended both Primary and High School. Tanja holds an Honours Degree in Business Administration and spent a year in Malaysia as part of her studies where she also worked with the Malaysian Red Crescent Society.
Tanja migrated to Australia in 2006 and has been calling Australia her home ever since. She is an active member of the Al Siraat family, enjoys mountain biking, bush walking and photography and is engaged with interfaith, social justice, wildlife care and rehabilitation in her spare time.
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