20 May 2020
The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at UniSA has been acknowledged with the Community Award for its contribution in South Australia as part of the 2019 Governor’s Multicultural Awards.
The awards recognise and celebrate the work of South Australian individuals and organisations who promote multiculturalism and increase the understanding of the benefits of cultural diversity in our community.
Established in 1997, The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre has a thriving program of public events focussed in society, science and culture and the arts and dedicated to the values of strengthening democracy and valuing diversity and educating the community.
UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says the award is a welcome acknowledgment of UniSA’s ongoing efforts to bring knowledge, debate and new ideas out from the University and into the wider world.
“As we have recently marked the one-year anniversary of Bob Hawke’s death, this is wonderful recognition of how the Centre named in his honour, has continued to fulfil his personal commitment to building better societies,” Prof Lloyd says.
“This public program has been a core function of the Centre since it was founded, starting with the Annual Hawke lecture, but building over the years to bring South Australians free access to knowledge and ideas that promote global and multicultural understanding.”
The awards are judged annually, and The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre’s 2019 program featured scores of public lectures and exhibitions, educating participants about global issues around inclusion, peace and understanding.
2019 program highlights included Amnesty International Secretary General, Kumi Naidoo speaking on human rights; acclaimed journalist Annick Cojean, and the benefits of bilingualism; Film Director, Stefan Weinert talking on the German Democratic Republic Dictatorship; Malaysian Government Minister Zuraida Binti Kamaruddin, exploring issues around women in politics; former refugee now international surgeon, Dr Munjed Al Muderis on his return to Iraq to help victims of war, and the Annual Hawke Lecture from Stan Grant, looking at the Uluru statement and the way forward for Aboriginal recognition.
In addition to a packed public speaking program, arts exhibitions featuring works from refugees, works looking at architecture in Japan, farming life in Thailand, and tackling issues of racism and prejudice were also acknowledged as part of the award.
Executive Director & Events and Exhibitions Producer for the Centre, Jacinta Thompson says it plays an important role in communicating and informing a broad local audience, across age groups and cultures.
“Our free program of events reaches out to all South Australians – everyone is welcome,” she says.
“Our aim to build knowledge on big social and cultural issues that are critical in the creation of harmonious communities.
“We bring people to South Australia who can provide global insights that are both big picture but often about the very individual experiences that are at the heart of injustice and the need for growth and change.
“In this time where everything about our normal sense of public engagement is being challenged by COVID-19, we’ve been working to make our events available to whole range of new online audiences.
“We are therefore delighted to receive this acknowledgement of the work of The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, because it is an extra incentive to reach out to our communities.”
Media contact: Michèle Nardelli phone: +61 418 823 673 or +61 8 8302 0966 email: michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au
