Melbourne Diwali Launch 2024

the programme

Who spoke

1. 01

   Megan Powell

   General Manager of Brand and Marketing, RACV

   For RACV, the 2024 title partner

2. 02

   Anu Bhardwaj

   Chief Executive Officer, Melbourne Diwali

   The 2024 festival programme

3. 03

   Nick Reece

   Lord Mayor of Melbourne

   Address from the lectern

   “If I get the chance and I'm still your Lord Mayor, come next term, I have said I will be investing $10 million to establish a little India here in Melbourne.”

   Read the transcript▾

   Transcribed from the recording, with names checked by hand. Times are minutes and seconds into the clip.

   1. 00:00My name's Nick Reece, I'm the Lord Mayor of Melbourne and it's an absolute joy for me to be here, to be able to celebrate this event, this meet and greet for the sponsors and supporters of Diwali Melbourne.
   2. 00:19Can I begin with an acknowledgement of some of the folks here in the room?
   3. 00:24Thank you Megan and Megan for your words and your support for this event.
   4. 00:29Can I also acknowledge Anu for everything that she does with Melbourne Diwali.
   5. 00:38Can I acknowledge my good friend, where is he, Gautam Gupta, where are you Gautam?
   6. 00:44There he is, put your hand up Gautam.
   7. 00:48And we've also got Mark Garrity, who I believe is here from the RACV as well.
   8. 00:55Good friend, Marcus Mandie here in the front row from the Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce.
   9. 01:00And we have Jamal Hakim, who is a Councillor at the City of Melbourne.
   10. 01:03Put your hand up, Jamal, so everyone can see who you are and Jamal's also a resident in Docklands and a great supporter of this event.
   11. 01:11I also should pass on apologies on behalf of Councillor Roshena Campbell, who not surprisingly is a great supporter of Melbourne Diwali.
   12. 01:23She's also a mother of four and family issues meant that she just couldn't be with us here today.
   13. 01:29So how good is Diwali?
   14. 01:32The festival of light, a festival that symbolises the victory of light over darkness, a five-day festival commencing at the end of this month, which will, as we have already heard and which we're all certain of, be the biggest
   15. 01:46and best in Melbourne, the biggest and best in Australia.
   16. 01:50I can't wait to be part of the celebrations later this month.
   17. 01:54And of course, the city of Melbourne, behalf of both Jamal and I, are delighted to be supporters of it.
   18. 02:00And indeed, we cannot wait to see that gigantic, beaming Happy Diwali sign down there in Docklands, sending a message to the world about how excited and how big this year's Diwali is going to be here in Melbourne, here in
   19. 02:17Docklands.
   20. 02:18As it should be.
   21. 02:20because Melbourne is the biggest Indian city in Australia.
   22. 02:26It's the fastest growing Indian city in Australia.
   23. 02:29And indeed, I think Melbourne is becoming one of the great Indian cities of the world.
   24. 02:36We are home to, of course, 400,000 people who have Indian cultural background.
   25. 02:43And of course, they make up students, entrepreneurs, business owners, leaders, innovators, skilled workers, is people from all walks of life, all combining to make up this wonderful Indian diaspora of which we are so proud.
   26. 02:58Of course, the Indian community of all new arrivals in Melbourne, the Indian community makes up the fastest growing cohort.
   27. 03:08And of course, Indian students are now the largest cohort of international students here in Melbourne as well.
   28. 03:15So whichever way you slice it and dice it, Melbourne is becoming a great Indian city.
   29. 03:21But nothing brought that home for me more than a day in our recent history.
   30. 03:30It was October the 23rd, 2022.
   31. 03:35Does anybody here remember what happened in this city?
   32. 03:38I'll give you a little clue at the MCG on October the 23rd, 2000.
   33. 03:43What happened on that day?
   34. 03:44India and Pakistan.
   35. 03:46India and Pakistan.
   36. 03:48Of course they had not played for many years such as the troubles in the home countries but they could play here in Melbourne.
   37. 03:55And it was a completely peaceful game.
   38. 03:56In fact the people at the stadium said it was more peaceful than a game that if Australia had been playing.
   39. 04:03But moreover, moreover, it was a sellout.
   40. 04:08MCG was completely full.
   41. 04:10And yet Australia was not even playing.
   42. 04:13playing and why was that?
   43. 04:16Because we have this, we have a large Pakistani community, we have a huge Indian community and they were all there watching the game.
   44. 04:26And fittingly, that hero Virat Kohli, he hit the winning runs in the final over.
   45. 04:32Man of the match won the game for India and it was a moment of joy and celebration for this city it was a moment of celebration for everyone in this city because I tell you that was the moment that all Melburnians realised
   46. 04:48wow Australia wasn't even playing and they sold out the MCG and when they saw all those delightful Indian fans every person in this city felt good and felt proud that we are a modern city, an inclusive city and a great Indian
   47. 05:09city here in the new world.
   48. 05:12And so for me, I wanna do everything I can to continue to celebrate and grow everything that makes Melbourne and our Indian community here great.
   49. 05:23If I get the chance and I'm still your Lord Mayor, come next term, I have said I will be investing $10 million to establish a Little India here in Melbourne.
   50. 05:39If we can have a Little India in Dandenong.
   51. 05:42By goodness, we should have one right here in the heart of the city, which will become a central meeting spot for all the five million plus people across Melbourne when they want to come together and celebrate those wonderful
   52. 05:54Indian festivals and moments where we want to get together as a community.
   53. 05:59Now, we haven't decided where Little India will be located, but you would have to think that India, that Docklands would be a very good candidate.
   54. 06:11And I know Jamal Hakim who lives in Docklands would support that as well.
   55. 06:16And we also want to see more funding for those festivals that bring so many people to our city.
   56. 06:22I also want to see a sister city relationship established with a great city in India.
   57. 06:28If I am still your Lord Mayor, then I've said a number of times already that the first place I will visit will be India and lead a delegation of Indian community leaders and business leaders from here in Melbourne to celebrate
   58. 06:41those connections and grow those connections because that is the future of our city.
   59. 06:47But for now we focus on Diwali, which is a few short weeks away.
   60. 06:52It's gonna be the biggest and best ever.
   61. 06:55Anu has assured us of that.
   62. 06:57And with Gautam and the team, I know a hundred percent that's gonna be the case.
   63. 07:02And with that big sign glowing to the world saying, welcome to Melbourne, happy Diwali.
   64. 07:09Thank you so much, everybody.
   65. 07:11Happy Diwali.
   66. 07:11Thank you very much.

   Read the transcript▾

   Transcribed from the recording, with names checked by hand. Times are minutes and seconds into the clip.

   1. 00:00Of course Melbourne is the biggest Indian city in Australia and I'd like to think we are becoming a great Indian city of the world.
   2. 00:09We have four hundred thousand Victorians of Indian ancestry and Melbourne is the largest city in Australia with an Indian community.
   3. 00:20We have Indian students, entrepreneurs, business owners, leaders, innovators, skilled workers, a whole diaspora of people who have made a wonderful contribution to our city over the years.
   4. 00:33And, of course, that is only going to continue and grow.
   5. 00:37Melbourne currently has the fastest growing Indian community in Australia and, as I said, the biggest Indian community in Australia.
   6. 00:44We also have now the largest number of Indian students and Indian students make up the largest cohort of all international students living here in Victoria.
   7. 00:55When I think about great moments in modern Melbourne history, my mind often goes to October the 23rd, 2022.
   8. 01:03Do any of you remember what happened on that day?
   9. 01:07October the 23rd, 2022.
   10. 01:10It happened at the MCG.
   11. 01:14India was playing Pakistan in a T20 final.
   12. 01:20And even though an Australian team, Australia was not playing, it was a sellout.
   13. 01:25Close to 100,000 people filled that stadium and it was an incredible game going right down to the wire and fittingly that great Virat Kohli hit the winning runs and won the match for India.
   14. 01:39A real moment but not only was it a great cricketing moment, it was a moment in the life of this city because Melburnians realised, wow, Australia wasn't even playing and they filled a whole stadium and it was mostly our wonderful
   15. 01:58Indian diaspora and Melburnians felt great about that.
   16. 02:02They felt more than good about it, they felt great about it and the penny dropped for our city.
   17. 02:07We have emerged as the biggest Indian city in Australia, the fastest growing Indian city in Australia and we love it.
   18. 02:15It was a moment of self-reflection and realisation and pride for all Melburnians.
   19. 02:23Now as Lord Mayor running for re-election I want to build on that.
   20. 02:28I want to make Melbourne even better and fairer for our Indian community.
   21. 02:35And so in this election I'm announcing an Indian communities policy which will invest $10 million in building and celebrating our Indian community.
   22. 02:47The first major initiative is the establishment of a Little India.
   23. 02:52We already have a number of, we have a Little Italy on Lygon Street.
   24. 02:56We have a Little Greece on Lonsdale Street.
   25. 03:00Of course, we have Chinatown, which is very well known as well.
   26. 03:04Why do we not have a Little India?
   27. 03:06We deserve a Little India and with this great and mighty and talented Indian community they need a place in the central city where they can celebrate all those wonderful Indian festivals and special occasions in the life of
   28. 03:22the Indian community.
   29. 03:23So I will build a Little India here in our city.
   30. 03:27We haven't decided what location it will be.
   31. 03:30We want to consult with the community around that.
   32. 03:33But I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being somewhere around Docklands, because we have a large and growing Indian community in Docklands, which is bringing so much life and vibrancy to that part of the city.
   33. 03:46And we want to celebrate that.
   34. 03:48And so I will invest and build a Little India here in the city of Melbourne, a central meeting spot for all those 400,000 members of the Indian diaspora community and all their friends like me and others who want to come and
   35. 04:04celebrate with them.
   36. 04:06And we will look to do some changes to the street.
   37. 04:08It could include street art, it'll involve signage and it will be a very, very special precinct for our city.
   38. 04:15We will also put $1 million into celebrating festivals and events for the Indian community.
   39. 04:24Those special cultural festivals that bring the community together.
   40. 04:28These will be grants to community groups or small businesses to help celebrate Indian culture in Melbourne.
   41. 04:34This is an unprecedented investment.
   42. 04:37We've never seen anything like this before in our city and it will take the celebration of our Indian communities to a whole other level as it should given we are becoming a great Indian city of the world.
   43. 04:51I have also said that if I'm re-elected Lord Mayor then the first place I will travel So, as Lord Mayor, the first place I will visit will be India.
   44. 05:02I think that is only right and proper and I hope to take a large contingent of Indian community leaders and business leaders with me so that we can go to India and tell them, here in this town, Melbourne, we are now a great
   45. 05:17Indian city and we want you to invest.
   46. 05:20We want more of your people to come and live their best lives in our city and grow those connections because we know over the decades and decades to come Melbourne is only going to grow and become bigger and better as an Indian
   47. 05:34city.
   48. 05:35So that'll be my first overseas mission as Lord Mayor.
   49. 05:39The final thing that I want to talk about is that I would like to establish a sister city relationship with a city in India.
   50. 05:50Melbourne currently has a number of sister cities, Osaka in Japan, Tianjin in China, Boston in the United States to give three examples.
   51. 06:02And it is long past time for Melbourne to have a sister city relationship in India.
   52. 06:07Again I'll be looking to our Indian community to give me advice on which city should be chosen.
   53. 06:13And it may be that India is so big that we end up with more than one, but I think it's an important thing to grow those connections between our city and India.
   54. 06:25And as part of that new sister city relationship, I will establish an interactive portal which will allow visitors, residents and visitors on both cities to share experiences in real time.
   55. 06:38I have seen this done between New York and Ireland and Dublin and it was a great opportunity for people in Dublin and New York to talk to each other, interact with each other through the portal.
   56. 06:51Wouldn't it be wonderful to set up something like that in Melbourne so Melburnians can talk directly with our good friends in India.
   57. 07:00It'll be a great source of excitement, it'll be something that people come and visit and again it will just cement those strong links between us and it'll be a great talking point for our city.
   58. 07:10I'm sure Melburnians will embrace it.
   59. 07:13So if I finish we will establish an interactive portal that will allow residents and visitors of both cities Melbourne and a city in India to experience and share their lives in real time in our city.
   60. 07:26It's a big package we've never seen anything like this before in our city but it is well overdue because I want Melbourne to be the best and fairest city in the world a city where our Indian community take their rightful place
   61. 07:40as a leading group in our city part of what makes Melbourne so special and so wonderful.
   62. 07:46Thank you so much.

   Read the transcript▾

   Transcribed from the recording, with names checked by hand. Times are minutes and seconds into the clip.

   1. 00:00Namaste.
   2. 00:01Happy Diwali.
   3. 00:02This year Diwali is going to be bigger and better than ever before here in Melbourne and there's no better place to celebrate than here in Docklands, right in the centre of our great city.
   4. 00:13So get along and have a great time.
   5. 00:16Happy Diwali, Melbourne 2024.

4. 04

   Kyra

   MC

   Opened the Launch and introduced the speakers

5. 05

   Siddika

   MC

   Introduced Anya Gupta and the Business Expo

6. 06

   Anya Gupta

   Trainee CEO, SarasCare

   The Business Expo

   “We're proud to present all of this in the Victory Room, a location that embodies accessibility, community and connection.”

   Read the transcript▾

   Transcribed from the recording, with names checked by hand. Times are minutes and seconds into the clip.

   1. 00:00Of course, technology will continue to play a key role in our event, as each exhibitor will have their own QR code for visitors to scan, whether it's to gain entry into these prizes or to easily follow up later.
   2. 00:14This entire tech solution has been designed and developed in-house by our brilliant tech leads, Mr Gautam Gupta and Ganesh Shenoy.
   3. 00:24We're proud to present all of this in the Victory Room, a location that embodies accessibility, community and connection.
   4. 00:31Supported by our wonderful community, volunteers, previous sponsors and the expanding number of exhibitors, we're set for an incredible Melbourne Diwali. Thank you.

7. 07

   CDS Vic Melbourne Diwali Dance Competition

   Partner presentation

   Parul Juneja, a judge of the competition, spoke about the festival's first dance competition.

   Read the transcript▾

   Transcribed from the recording, with names checked by hand. Times are minutes and seconds into the clip.

   1. 00:01Hello, everyone. Good evening, and thank you for having me here. I would like to thank the entire team, and specifically RACV, for bringing such a huge event here in Melbourne to celebrate something which is bigger than just the community. It's about cultural heritage and taking further our Indian community. This is the first time ever that Diwali Melbourne is also including a dance competition, not just to showcase, but to promote and encourage all the artists all around to bring something which is very special to them.

8. 08

   Gautam Gupta

   CEO, SarasCare

   Vote of thanks

   “I know you have been more than just a simple financial contributor.”

   Read the transcript▾

   Transcribed from the recording, with names checked by hand. Times are minutes and seconds into the clip.

   1. 00:00To RACV, thank you for coming on board and supporting us. I know you have been more than just a simple financial contributor. Your in-kind support that we are receiving, the guidance, and all the team that you can see there, about six of the staff, helping us in organising this event, all the way from the media engagement or event organising. That really helps us.

   Read the transcript▾

   Transcribed from the recording, with names checked by hand. Times are minutes and seconds into the clip.

   1. 00:00So I don't have much to say other than to say this has been months and months in the making. All of you have contributed. All of you, by your presence here itself, have made it possible. If I've left someone out, my apologies for that.
   2. 00:15You are all very, very important and contributing a lot. To Anya, Kyra, Siddika, you guys have done a wonderful job. Your presentations were amazing.
   3. 00:27Kyra, I know this was your first gig as an MC. These are all the small steps you take to learn and be better, and this is a platform for young people to grow big.
   4. 00:43Hopefully someone will be standing here in 10 years' time, giving the same acknowledgement to us and saying these guys did something crazy 10 years back. Thank you.

9. 09

   Moments from the Launch

   A short highlight edit of the evening, and guests' Diwali greetings.

   Read the transcript▾

   Transcribed from the recording, with names checked by hand. Times are minutes and seconds into the clip.

   1. 00:00[Music]
   2. 00:09RACV is committed to supporting all Victorian communities, and we are pleased to be part of such a significant cultural event that fosters both respect and tradition.
   3. 00:19For this festival of Diwali, which symbolises light.
   4. 00:29You know, special friends of the community, and they have been real leaders, because what we see now as a Diwali format, it did not happen overnight.
   5. 00:37Melbourne Diwali is more than just a festival. It's a community platform that celebrates and promotes the values that define our community.
   6. 00:45Melbourne Diwali is back this year, bigger and better, as RACV Melbourne Diwali 2024, an experience that's not only bigger, but bursting with more of everything we love about the festival.
   7. 01:01Diwali Melbourne is also including a dance competition, not just to showcase, but to promote and encourage all the artists all around to bring something which is very special to them.
   8. 01:18[Music]

   Read the transcript▾

   Transcribed from the recording, with names checked by hand. Times are minutes and seconds into the clip.

   1. 00:00Jai Shri Ram. Welcome to RACV Melbourne Diwali Festival. See you all on 26th October at Marvel Stadium.
   2. 00:10Happy Diwali. Looking forward to seeing everyone on the 26th of October, the Festival of Light. See you there.
   3. 00:18Happy Diwali, everyone. See you at Marvel Stadium on 26th of October. Jai Shri Ram.
   4. 00:23Jai Shri Ram. Happy Diwali. See you all on the 26th of October at the Marvel Stadium.
   5. 00:31Namaste. Jai Shri Ram. Happy Diwali. See you on 26th October at Melbourne Docklands. Happy Diwali to all.
   6. 00:42All my friends, Jai Shri Ram and Happy Diwali. See you on the 26th of October.
   7. 00:48Jai Shri Ram. Happy Diwali. See you all at the Marvel Stadium on the 26th of October.

South Asia Times (2 October 2024) also lists Megan Toose (CDS Vic) and Sister Morni (Brahma Kumaris) among those who addressed the gathering.

The RACV Melbourne Diwali logo on each photograph is as delivered in 2024.