INTERVIEW WITH DON KULASINGHE (Bank of Melbourne Manager, Dandenong) Q. As you have been an event partner with Greater Dandenong City Council for the past two years, what are your views about Australia Day Festival?
Greater Dandenong Council’s Youth Services FReeZa Committee. FReeZa is a state-wide initiative that provides young Victorians aged 12-25 opportunities to perform and engage with live music. The FReeZa Committee coordinated the standalone FReeZa Stage at the Australia Day Festival and contributed to the main stage program, giving the opportunity for local young people to perform in front of larger audiences. Overall this event provides numerous opportunities for young people to volunteer for and engage with the wider community in a safe, supportive and positive environment. The event also had a quiet space, a designated area for people to retreat to when feeling overstimulated, or as a safe space for meditation and prayer. The safe space was positioned next to the Council Information Tent, which made it easy to
locate. At this tent, attendees were also encouraged to donate to the Australian Bushfire Appeal. Attendance numbers increased from the previous year from 10,000 to 12,000, and the majority of attendees were young people and families from the local area. Feedback drawn from surveys on the day cited “the great atmosphere”, “the stage program and kid’s activities”, and “the happy family environment”. Participants were surveyed after the event and 83 percent of respondents indicated they felt the event was “very good” to “excellent”. The Australia Day Festival will continue to celebrate the multiculturalism of Greater Dandenong by bringing communities closer together through honouring and celebrating similarities and differences of being Australian.
A. I think as an event, it was very coordinated and also very multicultural with significant community groups coming together. Council has really given them the opportunity to shine and it is definitely an event that should be recognised. Q. What was your personal experience being present at Australia Day Festival? How did you feel being there? A. I felt very happy being at the event. The engagement level was really good, and I loved the relationships created and the newfound clients, some of whom have now been with us for two years. This is why I am happy to support all the events, even for next year – the whole team is very organised, and I can see the passion that goes into the events. Q. What was it like being a partner with the Greater Dandenong City Council for Australia Day Festival? A. It is a very successful partnership as there has been so many opportunities to connect with and support the local community and businesses. On the day, I had the opportunity to talk to leaders from different ethnic groups I didn’t even know of. Our motto is to be to be the most loved bank and everything that Council does has really resonated with our motto.
CHAMPIONING A MENTORING CULTURE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A MENTOR AND A MENTEE IS A POWERFUL THING WORDS GENERATE NETWORK AUSTRALIA
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s a Mentor you have the opportunity to transcend someone’s career, and life, through the guidance you provide; the perfect balance of support and challenge as you watch them grow. For a mentee, this will make all the difference. Championing a mentoring culture and legacy leadership across the parks and leisure industry is a core focus of Generate Network Australia (Generate AUS). Generate AUS is Parks and Leisure Australia’s commitment to the development of young professionals and emerging leaders; which would not be possible without the unwavering support and legacy leadership of our national sponsor Otium Planning Group. With this story, we want to share an
inspiring journey and the relationship between a mentor and a mentee in our industry, in the hopes of inspiring a little legacy leadership in you all.
MEET SARAH MCPHEE: THE MENTEE Sarah is 32 years old, moved to Melbourne from regional Victoria, loves sports and relishes trying new things. She describes herself as a passionate foodie who likes exploring new places, easygoing, curious, honest, and ambitious.
SARAH’S JOURNEY In 2015, Sarah graduated the from Federation University with a Bachelor of Sports Management/Bachelor of Business (Marketing), after which she completed a four-month internship
26 AUSTRALASIAN PARKS AND LEISURE | Summer 2020
with the Sport and Recreation Team at the City of Ballarat. “I didn’t realise it at the time, but the internship was my first step in expanding my professional network,” Sarah explained. Thanks to the relationships built during her internship, Sarah was offered a graduate role as the Promotions and Social Media Officer at the Ballarat Aquatic and Lifestyle Centre. In 2017, Sarah landed the Recreation Development Officer role at Macedon Ranges Shire Council. In 2018, Sarah was the recipient of the PLA VIC/TAS Emerging Leader Award, and later that year won the PLA National Emerging Leader Award. “The number of people who came to congratulate and introduce themselves to me afterwards was amazing, so much support shown
