Bridging Australia and the Arab World
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When Paul Laverty joined his local Rotary Club eight years ago, his vision was to help others and make a
The role religious leaders play, the veil of secrecy and the shame of victims were key topics of discussion at
If you’re looking for new and exciting ways to interact with nature this spring, Canterbury-Bankstown is the place to be.The
Remember what it was like growing up, to be called up to the stage at school assembly and receive an award?
You felt so proud and six feet tall and couldn’t wait to get home to tell your parents. When it comes to our youth,
a little bit of recognition can go a
long way.
We often sing the praises of the
kids who get the best results in the classroom and those who excel at sports. But there are many other achievers who go unrecognised.
The kids who stand up to the bully in
the school yard, the ones who mentor others and those who are first to put their hand up to volunteer.
Over the years, we have
acknowledged many young people through our Children and Youth
Awards and heard some of their inspirational stories.
Young people like 16-year-old
Ahmad Youssef, who required a
heart transplant after suffering a
cardiac arrest. He also had his right
leg amputated.
A true fighter, Ahmad learnt to walk again, got involved in wheelchair
sports and has even completed
charitable walks to raise funds for
heart foundations.
Another inspirational story of
kindness is that of William and Charbel. Eight-year-old William was nominated by his best mate, Charbel, for the support he gave Charbel whilst he
was undergoing cancer treatment.
William received an award for going above and beyond to help lift Charbel’s spirits during the difficult time.
It’s kids like these who make a real difference to the lives of others and
it’s important we encourage them to keep up the good work. That’s why I’d like everyone to consider nominating
a young person for this year’s Children and Youth Awards.
Nominations for nine different categories, which include inspiration, leadership and community involvement, open this Monday (28 August).
Keep an eye on the website at
cb.city/CYAwards and let’s give
our children and young people the recognition they deserve.
Clr Bilal El-Hayek
MAYOR
Street art is adding vibrant colour to buildings throughout Canterbury-Bankstown, as part of our Better Walls program. The program is
From Beirut to Bankstown!
The Lebanese Film Festival is once again bringing the finest of Lebanese filmmaking right here to our City.
Many talented people including actors, producers, cameramen and editors are coming together for the annual Lebanese Film Festival.
It’s a celebration of one of our
largest communities, showcasing their culture, traditions and people.
What began as an idea by two locals more than a decade ago, has evolved from a small gathering to one of the world’s largest festivals of its kind.
The festival has since screened more than 300 films from contributors all over the world, capturing the essence of Lebanon.
And it was great to see last year’s tenth anniversary edition attract over 17,000 people.
This year’s festivities will kick off tomorrow night (Thursday 17 August) at the Bryan Brown Theatre. The opening night will be an extravagant event with the red carpet being rolled out to welcome celebrities and guests.
There is a fantastic line up, with more than 20 films being screened across our City throughout the next two weeks. From comedy to crime and drama, and everything in between, there’s something for the whole family. You can check out the full program at lff.org.au
I encourage you all to support the festival, be entertained and learn more about the wonderful
Lebanese culture.
Clr Bilal El-Hayek
MAYOR
CBCity has joined the War on Waste, and is hosting a food waste workshop and special screening of the latest
Tomorrow’s leaders will come from today’s youth!
It’s paramount we invest in our youth and give them the skills they need to tackle the many challenges they will be confronted with. And with an ageing population, the opportunities are there for young and old to come together and share experiences.
This weekend, we celebrate International Day of Youth (Saturday
12 August), a day when we focus on the difficulties some young people are experiencing and the issues they are concerned about.
Over the past years, the day has highlighted a lack of basic reading and math skills, childhood poverty and providing safe spaces for youth to come together.
This year, the focus will be on
Green Skills for Youth: Towards
a Sustainable World.
In Canterbury-Bankstown, we have more than 65,000 young people between the age of 12 and 25 – one of the largest populations of young people in the state.
I have a deep affinity with the youth in our City through my volunteering work in the community and with the Police Citizens Youth Clubs (PCYC).
We have achieved so much, but there is still much to do, especially when it comes to youth poverty, illiteracy and homelessness.
It saddens me to read that one in
six children still lives in poverty in Australia, a country abounding in wealth and resources.
Our Council encourages youth by investing in programs to help them thrive. We also have an awesome youth team, that coordinates a wide range of programs to support young people at Belmore Youth Resource Centre (BYRC) and beyond.
So this Saturday, take some time and connect with some of our youth and see the world through their eyes.
After a fulfilling lifelong career in community service, 90-year-old Margaret McIlhagga has found a new lease on life from an
We are drowning in waste!
And unless governments at all levels,
industry leaders and manufacturers
begin to seriously tackle this issue,
we will be left sinking under the
waste wave…
That’s not an exaggeration, it’s a
reality with more than half of Sydney’s
household and commercial waste
going to landfill.
Sydney’s waste is growing by
somewhere in the order of 400,000
tonnes every year. And by 2040,
residents will be generating around
3.2 million tonnes a year.
Unless we take urgent action in the
next decade our red bin waste will
have nowhere to go.
The areas of most concern are
waste management and lack of
infrastructure to process the
City’s waste.
More and more waste, landfill
sites reaching capacity, an increase
in the Waste Levy and valuable
resources which can be recycled,
are going into landfill.
Council is committed to continuing
to tackle this issue.
We’re working with other councils to
reduce waste, improve environmental
outcomes where waste has to be
processed, influence policies and
find solutions for the residue that
is left.
I’ll be urging the NSW Government
to invest the revenue they collect
from the waste levy into building
waste infrastructure and educating
communities on ways to
reduce waste.
The Federal Government also needs
to play their part by banning materials
that cannot be recycled or recovered
in Australia.
There’s no time to waste and we must
all do what we can to address this
issue before we drown.
