Tuesday, 29 August 2023

Cultura

Ella GEORGE (Lara) (13:14): In celebration of Youth Fest 2023 and the month-long celebrations during September to recognise the contributions of young people, I am extra pleased that the notes for my members statement today were written by a young person in my electorate, Drew Megtaka, who recently completed work experience in my office.

Geelong offers many opportunities for residents with refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds to gain new skills and build relationships with others. I had the pleasure of visiting the new urban farmers program at Cultura in Norlane recently. The program allows participants to learn about the local food system in the Geelong area and teaches them about horticultural skills and meal preparation using locally grown ingredients. During my visit it was evident that the group had a strong passion for the cooking program and the Cultura community garden, where they have been growing food for the cooking program. It was wonderful to see the connections and friendships between the young people from many different cultural and linguistic backgrounds who are part of the program. I had the chance to share a meal with the urban farmers. We had Jerusalem artichoke soup, chocolate orange cake and a croissant bread and butter pudding. This project would not have been possible if not for VicHealth’s major investments into JumpStart! as part of their Future Healthy initiative. The Future Healthy program involves an investment of $45 million into partnerships with local communities that introduce locally driven solutions to create healthier futures for young Victorians. Thank you to all those involved in the urban farmers program for the delicious meal and for hosting me.