Celebrating ‘Finding Freedom’ this Refugee Week

The City of Whittlesea is committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive municipality for all and is excited to be celebrating Refugee Week this year.  

Refugee Week 2023 takes place from 18 to 24 June and this year’s theme is ‘Finding Freedom’. The City of Whittlesea is hosting a variety of events to celebrate our refugee community, foster togetherness and raise awareness about the challenges refugees face. 

Chair Administrator Lydia Wilson said it is important to recognise and appreciate the ways in which people from refugee backgrounds enrich our municipality, and equally important to understand the hardships and hurdles they face.  

“The City of Whittlesea promotes respect for the cultural diversity that refugees and migrants bring to our municipality and is proud of the positive contributions made by people who have come to our area from countries far and wide.”   

“Refugee Week is a great opportunity for us to unite individuals, communities and organisations from different backgrounds and to focus on creating a welcoming environment for refugees in our community.”  

Throughout Refugee Week, the City of Whittlesea will host various events across the municipality, celebrating the vibrant cultures and diversity brought by residents from overseas. The free events will honour and showcase the stories and experiences of the refugee community and people seeking asylum.  

Council is also currently piloting a State Government funded program helping refugees and people seeking asylum, who live within the City of Whittlesea and the City of Hume, to receive catch-up immunisations. This initiative is open to people of all ages and aims to protect them and the broader community from vaccine-preventable diseases.  

Since the program commenced, Council has established referral pathways and supported over 7,600 refugees with their catch-up immunisations. Catch-up vaccines are free for all refugees and other humanitarian entrants in Australia.  

For a full list of events being held during Refugee Week and to register visit City of Whittlesea Refugee week events.  

For more information about catch-up immunisations, email our multilingual project team on refugeeimmunisation@whittlesea.vic.gov.au.