Melbourne, Australia—Approximately 250 dignitaries attended a gala dinner as part of Australia’s fifth annual celebration of Africa Day.
Africa Day has been celebrated in Melbourne since 2012. Each year it has been celebrated by a partnership of Africa Day Australia, numerous African-Australian community organizations and UPF-Australia. The guests at the gala dinner, which took place on May 28, 2016, included members of the diplomatic corps, government organizations, members of various political parties and numerous community organizations.
Stephen Sibanda, the former president of Africa Day Australia, was presented with an award for his tremendous work to make Africa Day Australia such a successful organization. Robin Scott, Australian minister of finance and multicultural affairs, presented the award to Mr. Sibanda, who attended the gala with his wife, Shillar Sibanda.
Another aspect of the Africa Day celebration was a Family and Youth Forum, which focused on collaboration and development within the social, cultural and economic arenas. The goal of the forum was to promote human potential by fostering individual empowerment, loving families and the public good.
The third part of the celebration was a performing arts competition called Africa’s Got Talent. An audience of about 300 people came to witness this youth talent quest which every year unleashes African-Australian creative talents.