Celebrating Harmony and Diversity: The Multicultural Peace Village in Dandenong
HWPL Victoria hosted the "Multicultural Peace Village" event at Harmony Square, Dandenong on Saturday, September 23rd, 2023 in collaboration with the International Peace Youth Group (IPYG) and International Women’s Peace Group (IWPG). This event marked the 9th annual commemoration of HWPL’s World Peace Summit which is conducted globally each year.
Approximately 200 individuals from many cultural backgrounds united to celebrate cultural diversity, understanding and acceptance which transformed Harmony Square into a vibrant multicultural mosaic of booths with traditional exhibits, food and performances. This offered insights into each culture, giving the opportunity for participants to challenge stereotypes and foster respect among cultures.
The outdoor festival featured captivating interactive performances on stage from the Yirol Dance Group, The Cook Islands Hostal Dance Troupe, Pinoy Casey Community and Oromo Youth, showcasing their traditions to the audience. This interactive approach led the entire audience to join for a first-hand experience of dance and music traditions, where the festival itself became a stage.
Additionally, local communities from 10 countries participated with booths including Chin Myanmar, Afghan Hazara, Khmer, Indian, Oromia, Ugandan, South Sudanese and Philippines.
The "Multicultural Peace Village'' event reflected HWPL's commitment to world peace and the cessation of war. HWPL works tirelessly to unite leaders around the world, transcending national, cultural, and ideological boundaries. The event was a resounding success, with many wonderful reactions from the Dandenong residents who saw so many cultures in one place, and said that “the goal of unity, diversity and peace was achieved”.
HWPL Chairman, Mr. Man Hee Lee emphasized that the participation of people from all around the world is absolutely necessary to achieve peace, stating,
“If wars take place, it's not just one or two people who die. This kind of event should never take place again. There is no greater work than this. Whether it be in the household, school or society, we are working to establish a world of peace where wars will never take place again”
