THE inaugural Multicultural  Community Lifetime Achievement Award has gone to the founder of the National Multicultural Festival, Domenic Mico.

The the 2023 ACT Multicultural Awards were presided over by ACT Minister for Multicultural Affairs Tara Cheyne on Thursday night at Belconnen Arts Centre.

She described Mico’s honour as  “a testament to Domenic’s dedication to cultural enrichment over the last 50 years”.

The night, which also featured entertainment by Canberra Breez Islander Dance group, Canberra Hellenic Dance Group, singer Johnny Huckle and a Chinese community choir, was staged to celebrate and recognise the contributions of the people and organisations that continue to make Canberra a “welcoming and inclusive city,” and also featured four awards to community “champions”.

The Individual Champion was Mijica Rose Lus, who supports initiatives such as the Aurosokwo project, which is behind care packs, book drives and medical outreach.

The Community Organisation Champion went to ALO Enlightened Women Inc, which has made an impact on the lives of hundreds of multicultural community members, especially marginalised migrant and refugee women.

The Arts, Media or Culture Award went to the Hindi language station “Radio Manpasand”.

The Outstanding Excellence for Diversity and Inclusion Award went to Lubna Alam, who is extensively involved in the wider multicultural community.

Highly commended awards went to: the Refugee and Migrant Swim Program; founder of the “Born To Shine” not for profit organisation Tendayi Ganga; diversity advocate Lubna Alam;  Karen community leader Andrew Sein; president of the Tamil Sangam of Canberra and the Australian Multicultural Action Network Ravi Krishnamurthy; and Telugu radio program “Canberra Telugu Vaani and Samithi”.