International Men’s Day Celebrations

SEVA International, Sri Lanka Association of NSW Inc and Boronia Multicultural Services collaborated to celebrate International Men’s Day on 20 November 2021 via an online virtual event.

International Men’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the positive values men bring to the world, their families and the communities. The aim of this day is to recognise positive role models, raise awareness of men’s wellbeing and promote healthy relationships.

One of the six pillars of International Men’s Day (19th November) is to improve gender relations and promote gender equality not only for men but for women too.

The IMD theme for 2021 is “Better rela-

tions between men and women.”

20 November is also the International Children’s Day. These two days celebrate men and children and the special relationships they share. Both days encourage men to teach their children, particularly boys in their lives, the values, character and responsibilities of being a man.

“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” –Marcus Aurelius

women, lead by example that we will be able to create a fair and safe society which allows everyone the opportunity to prosper.

The event celebrated the positive contribution of men and keynote speakers addressed the following topics:

Mohit Kumar from NSW Police spoke on

Building Happy and Healthy relationships

and emphasized the need to give quality time to your family, reflecting on your own behaviour and how you make others feel, practice gender equality at home, be a role model and influence the other men around you to also be good role models.

Dr Thava Seelan OAM from Bridgeview Medical Centre spoke on the need for men to look after their Physical Health and Wellbeing. He mentioned that the key health areas for men are heart health, diabetes, bowel, skin and prostrate cancer and encouraged men to know and look for early signs as early detection is the key.

Kamal Sarma, Chair of the RUOK Day’s Think Tank spoke on Men’s Mental Health and provided excellent tips on how to improve resilience, communication skills, connection skills and the Thriving Triangle: Authenticity, Vulnerability and Humility. He encouraged men and boys to be able to show emotions without fear of judgement – it is ok to not be ok. Deepak Vinayak OAM joined from Melbourne and spoke about the role of fatherhood – the importance of how you treat your child, how he/she perceives the relationship with their father – is he caring and treats everyone with respect. He said that if a father cares for his children, they too will grow to be caring and respectful. A son’s relationship with his father will form his character and how he relates to everyone. Positive role model will help him grow up emotionally secure.

Dr Geoff Lee, State MP for Parramatta and Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education also highlighted the need for men to take time to look after their personal health and not ignore the early signs. He also highlighted the need to be a positive role model to your children as “You can’t be what you can’t see”.

Dr Sunil Vyas, President of United Indian Associations NSW and Councillor Suman Saha, Cumberland Council also shared their personal insights and encouraged men to reflect on their own behaviour, call out bad behaviour and encourage friends to also do the right thing.

The event was co-ordinated by Nalika Padmasena President Sri Lanka Association, Bernadette Agyepong Manager Boronia Multicultural Services, Gayathri Dharmagesan, Sunila Kotwal and Sumati Advani President SEVA International Inc.

2021 The Salvation Army Multicultural Gala

The 2021 Salvos Multicultural Gala celebrated our diverse communities and recognised those who are working to foster a more cohesive Australia.

Held together by Master of Ceremonies, Stephanie Brantz, Director, Football NSW and Chair, DFAT’s Sports Diplomacy Advisory Council, the 2021 Salvos Multicultural Gala also featured an exciting array of multicultural experiences, fine dining options, and key government speakers including:

Senator The Hon. Kristina Keneally, Senator for New South Wales.

The Hon. Dr Geoffrey Lee MP, Member for Parramatta, Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education

Mr. Chris Minns MP, NSW Leader of the Opposition

Mr. Steve Kamper MP, Member of the New South Wales Parliament

The 2021 Salvos Multicultural Gala is part of The Salvation Army Multicultural Engagement Campaign, an ambitious strategy aimed at ensuring that all Australians receive equal opportunity to access their social support, community engagement and faith expression offerings, particularly for new arrivals, and people of culturally and linguistically diverse background.