Whittlesea Interfaith Network hosted a virtual event Commemorating 20 Years since September 11.

We had a huge line up of high quality speakers sharing their reflections and stories on the topic of Interfaith Engagement for a Connected Community

We sincerely thank each of the speakers tonight for sharing their wisdom, reflections and lived experiences;

– Glenys Southurst – WIN Executive Secretary
– Uncle Andrew Gardiner – Indigenous Muslim Elder of the Wurundjeri
– Former Mayor Kris Pavlidis
– Hon. MP Lily D’Ambrosio – Member for Mill Park, Minister for Energy Environment & Climate Change. Minister for Solar Homes
– Fatih Erol Tuncer – Intercultural Officer for City of Whittlesea
– Gurinder Kaur – President of Sikh Community Connections
– Nathan Elijah – Indian Jewish Association of Australia
– Inspector Chris Allen – Victoria Police
– Kristine Mueller – Hume City Council
– Elizabeth Shield – Hume Interfaith Network
– Essan Dileri Melton City Council, Diversity & Intercultural Development
– Dr. Dinesh Sood President of Indian Senior Citizens Association
– Avraham (Abe) Schwarz – sharing reflections as one of the first WIN members

Special acknowledgement also goes to the members and partners of WIN who did a lot of the background work in making this virtual event truly memorable, namely;
Farzaneh Dehghan – WIN Assistant Secretary
Tanja Kubitza – WIN Vice President
Ansam Sadik – Victoria Police

I’m very humbled and grateful that we were able to commemorate 9/11 in this very meaningful way, together with our diverse community. It’s very very different to the alienation, fear and division felt by so many, 20 years ago when the 9/11 attacks happened.

Interfaith networks play an important role in strengthening social cohesion. WIN is made up of some amazing people, who truly value diversity. We welcome anyone living or working in the Whittlesea region from all faiths and no faith to join Whittlesea Interfaith.

We look forward to collaborating again in future events. The recording of the program is available on our Youtube channel.