Held on Friday, June 28 at Wollongong Town Hall's Music Lounge, the 2024 Refugee Week Creative Expressions Competition Awards Ceremony showcased the talents of over 400 participants from more than 32 countries.
The event, organised by Illawarra Multicultural Services (IMS) in partnership with the South Coast Writers Centre, celebrated this year’s "Finding Freedom: Family" through writing, art, and photography.
"Wollongong and Shellharbour really stand out as communities that have a long and positive track record in their quality of welcome to refugees,” said Paul Power, CEO of the Refugee Council of Australia.
“We have a three-year theme for Refugee Week, ‘Finding Freedom’, and the focus this year is particularly on the importance of family, and of reuniting family. Next year we will be focusing on the role of community,” he said.
The competition, now in its fifth year of collaboration with the South Coast Writers Centre, recognised winners across multiple categories. In the adult writing category, Mariam Shaar claimed first place, followed by Muh Mustafa Rahmani. The teen category recognised four winners, including Ukhaanzaya Mendsaikhan, a second-time winner who read her entry aloud.
Dr Sarah Nicholson, director of the South Coast Writers Centre, read a poem by Fatima Syed, a past winner of the competition, which she said was “a beautiful illustration of the journey of resilience – the strength and love towards refuge and hope”.
"It's really important that we support people to express themselves and their stories creatively, honour them, and publish them," Sarah said.
Winners of the adult writing category now have the opportunity to develop their writing craft with mentorship and membership at the South Coast Writers Centre.
“It's great to hear new voices in the competition – and voices that are struggling sometimes with English, but are full of heart," said Peter Frankis from the South Coast Writers Centre. "Their stories enrich us and enrich our community because they help us understand their experiences as well.
“We congratulate everybody who entered and the winners. Writing in a language that may be new to you is really challenging and they should be commended on their writing journey.”
The event also awarded winners in the art and photography categories, with their works displayed at the venue. Artworks celebrated freedom depicted as the ability to understand one another, the freedom to travel and connect.
This year’s competition is the first to include a photography category. Winner Olga Moregaeva thanked IMS for the chance to take part in the competition.
"Thank you so much for noticing and appreciating my work. Australia is a beautiful country, so you cannot turn off the camera," Olga said.
Winners, families, teachers and distinguished guests enjoyed a buffet-style dinner and a musical performance by Siab, who said, "I came to Australia in 2002 and I do call Australia my first home. I am grateful for every opportunity that it's given us."
Attendees had the chance to hear winners read their entries on stage. Pieces ranged from poetry to prose, exploring themes around freedom and family. Young writers Habte Habte Ali and Sogand Bigdeli reflected on the joy of spending time with their families in their new home.
Amro Zoabe from IMS thanked participants, saying: “We are very lucky not only to hear these entries read aloud, but also to know the background to the diverse stories behind the entries.”
Entries will open again later this year, ahead of a competition acknowledging the International Day of the Elimination of Violence Against Women, marking the start of the 16 days of activism.
2024's Creative Expressions Winners
The Writing winners
- 1st in the adult age category: Mariam Shaar
- 2nd in the adult age category: Muh Mustafa Rahmani
- TAFE Special prize: Andrea Floriach
Teenage category winners
For the teenage category, we have four winners as the there was very fierce competition which made it impossible to decide on first, second, IEC and ESL.
- Joao Michiles
- Ukhaanzaya Mendsaikhan
- Alex Pham
- Umaama Chaudhry
Children's category winners
- 1st in the children age category: Habte Habte Ali
- 2nd in the children age category: Sogand Bigdeli
- Primary School ESL Winner: Aya Al Hasan
The Art Winners
- Abed Alhadlawi
- Shahed Aladawi
- Ester Lian
The Photography Winners
- Olga Moregaeva
- Khup Nuam Sang (Cecelia)
Read more: The South Coast Writers Centre is holding its annual festival in Thirroul this weekend, July 13 and 14.
