Melbourne hosted the fifth annual African Music and Cultural Festival at the weekend, attracting over 40,000 people, according to its organisers. With more than 35 different local African communities involved in the day, the festival is the largest of its kind in Australia.
Showcasing culture, food, and music from all corners of the African continent, the festival was established to project a more positive image of Africans in Australia, says Fred Alale, the festival's chair.
The festival came after another year of strong media scrutiny cast on African communities in Melbourne, and the reporting of anti-social behaviour by certain younger African Australians, which many say has tainted the image of the communities at large.
Fred Allale, Chair of African Music Festival. Source: SBS Somali Source: SBS Somali
Alale says no one in the community condones the action of a few misguided individuals, and that an overwhelming majority condemns such behaviour. He also urges the wider community to see the positive contribution the African community makes to Australian life.
“It is also important to recognise the overwhelming majority of the African community contribute to the advancement of Australia in their daily lives, day in, day out," says Alale. "[They are] very law-abiding and love the peaceful country that we live in. We love the peaceful state of Victoria and we all do our best to keep it peaceful and harmonious.”
The day-long event was attended by a wide range of state and federal government representatives, and other dignitaries including the Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne, Sally Capp, whose council zone is host to people of over 200 different nationalities including, of course, some African communities.
Capp says there are ongoing concerns about how the African community is depicted in the media and negative commentary about African youths coming from political and media sources. But Capp was encouraged by the result of this year's Victorian election, where she believes Victorians expressed a desire for an inclusive community.
Brundian Drummers Source: SBS Source: SBS
“We see you, we recognise you, we welcome you," says Capp. "We value you as part of broader Melbourne community and Melbourne City supports the African community to showcase everything wonderful about their cultures.”
The Victorian state government's Minister for Multicultural Affairs Richard Wynne also noted in a speech on the day that Victoria has benefited from generations of migrants and pointed to a history of bipartisan support for multiculturalism in the state.
“To celebrate what is in my view very unique in Victoria, we are a community that has been enriched by successive waves of migration to this country," Wynne said, "and in that context of the contribution African communities are playing more broadly is simply a part of that long narrative, where we as a state have always welcomed migration.”
President of the Victorian Legislative Council and Liberal Party politician Bruce Atkinson also said in a speech that he acknowledged the difficulties faced by African communities but would like to see events such as the African Music and Cultural Festival help change that.
Somali Dance Group. Source SBS Somali Source: SBS Somali
“The African communities have gone through some difficulties," said Atkinson. "There are some negative headlines that are created around the African community. I would love to see this event feature on the front pages of the newspapers tomorrow as a positive story about the sensational contribution that the African communities are making to Victoria.”
Alale says that issues surrounding some of Victoria's African youth were prominent in the state election debate but hopes that all communities and political groups can work together to solve such issues in a respectful manner. He also likes to remind people that they should refrain from blaming an entire community for the actions of a few people.
“I remind everyone that images they see on TV are not necessarily representative of the entire African Australian community and we want to tell more of positive stories about African Australians," says Alale. "There are African Australians excelling in all walks of life. We have got African Australian who are doctors, surgeons, accountants, lawyers, engineers - all contributing to the advancement of Australia.”
Alale says that the festival is an opportunity to engage the wider Australian society in an easy and accessible way with food, art, culture, and music.
“Come and see us as individuals," says Alale. "Come and see us as people, come and see us as Victorians, by doing this [festival] hopefully we promote more understanding, more tolerance, and a harmonious community.”
In an effort to address youth disengagement leading to anti-social behavior, all levels of government have been running programs supporting community integration.
The City of Melbourne, which has a large African community in its boundary, also runs activities that aid better integration into the wider Australian society, but the city's Lord Mayor wants better coordination of such programs.
“What I am finding in my six months of being Lord Mayor is I think we could coordinate those things better for our African Communities, so communicating [news about these programs] so people are aware of them but also making sure that they are relevant and valuable,” says Capp.
