Released 09/09/2025
Winners of the 2025 ACT Multicultural Awards have been announced, recognising organisations and individuals who have made a significant impact in promoting cultural diversity and social inclusion across Canberra and the ACT region.
Winner of the ACT Multicultural Individual Champion Award, Sanjay Sharma, was recognised for his work fostering multicultural inclusion and uniting the community through cricket. As founder of the Indian Australian Multicultural Sports Association (IAMSA) and Yerrabi District Cricket Club, he has created inclusive platforms that bring together people from diverse backgrounds. His flagship events, such as the Multicultural Cup and Independence Day Tape Ball Matches, promote cultural exchange, teamwork, and a sense of belonging. Through IAMSA, Sanjay has supported Afghan girls who have recently resettled in the ACT to learn and play cricket in a safe and respectful environment.
The ACT Education Directorate’s Safe@School Taskforce received the ACT Multicultural Community Organisation Champion Award for its work developing culturally and religiously appropriate guidelines to support Sikh students and their families. In collaboration with the ACT Sikh community, the Education Directorate created the Wearing Items of Religious Significance (Sikhism) in ACT Public Schools Guidelines, which provide clear advice on accommodating the five articles of Sikh faith - Kes, Kachhehra, Kangha, Kara, and Kirpan - within the school environment. These guidelines, launched in May 2025, ensure that Sikh students can practice their faith safely and respectfully while fully participating in school life.
Winner of the ACT Outstanding Excellence Award for Diversity and Inclusion Award, Dr. Nilofar Ebrahimi, was recognised for her work as a Community Educator and Health Promotion Officer at Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT (SHFPACT). Dr. Ebrahimi delivers culturally sensitive education sessions on topics such as menopause, contraception, consent, and cervical screening to the Afghan community in Canberra. A doctor and former Member of Parliament in Afghanistan, Dr. Ebrahimi is also the founder of the ZamZam Foundation. Originally established in Afghanistan to support widows and orphans, ZamZam now operates in the ACT, delivering programs that empower Afghan women locally, including Learn to Drive and Learn to Swim initiatives.
The ACT Multicultural Arts, Media or Culture Award went to Canberra Dragon Dance: a dynamic and inclusive cultural arts group that performs traditional Chinese Lion Dance, Dragon Dance, and percussion at major events, as well as at schools, shopping centres, nursing homes and other events across the Territory and surrounding regions. The group actively promotes multiculturalism through its diverse membership, youth development initiatives, and cultural preservation. Canberra Dragon Dance exemplifies how traditional arts can foster unity and make multiculturalism a celebrated part of Canberra’s mainstream identity.
Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Michael Pettersson MLA, congratulated all winners and finalists for their extraordinary contributions to the community.
“The winners and finalists of the ACT Multicultural Awards devote significant time and effort towards making Canberra a more equitable, inclusive and vibrant place to live. We’re so fortunate to have these local heroes living and working in our community, they truly embody the positive outcomes we see when multiculturalism is valued, respected and celebrated,” Minister Pettersson said.
The Award ceremony was held on Tuesday, 9 September 2025 at the Ann Harding Conference Centre at the University of Canberra. Also recognised were: Aqila Ziae (Highly Commended - ACT Multicultural Individual Champion Award); Santosh Kumar Gupta (Highly Commended - ACT Outstanding Excellence Award for Diversity and Inclusion); and Pradeep Timalsina (Highly Commended - ACT Multicultural Art, Media or Culture Award).
The ACT Government is committed to a culturally and linguistically diverse ACT, as seen in the passing of the Multiculturalism Act 2023 and the values outlined in the Charter for Multiculturalism, which sets out principles for supporting diversity, inclusion and belonging.
The ACT Government supports the ACT multicultural community through the delivery of various programs, grants, and awards, in addition to funding a range of services for migrants, refugees and/or asylum seekers who require support. More information is available at the ACT Office of Multicultural Affairs website.
Quotes attributable to Mr. Sanjay Sharma, founder of the Indian Australian Multicultural Sports Association and Yerrabi District Cricket Club:
“For the past 10 years, I have organised Pink Stumps Day to raise funds for the McGrath Breast Cancer Foundation. It has brought the community together while supporting an important cause. During COVID, I helped arrange tickets and a flight for an international student whose father had passed away. The blessings from his family reminded me why giving back to the community is so important. At one of our Multicultural Cup events at Manuka Oval, a little boy asked me for an autograph, and his father became emotional, saying how much it meant for him to play at such a prestigious ground. By involving South Asian women in cricket through Pink Stumps Day, we inspired their daughters to take up the sport. Today, 4–5 of those girls are proudly representing ACT at different levels.”
“All of these experiences have strengthened my belief that multiculturalism is about breaking barriers, creating belonging, and opening opportunities for the next generation.”
Quotes attributable to Ms. Jessie Atkins, Executive Branch Manager, Complex Behaviour Support and WHS, ACT Education Directorate:
“The Education Directorate established a Safe@School Taskforce a few years ago. And this notion of the Sikh item of faith, the Kirpan, kept coming up. We embarked on a piece of work with the Sikh community and worked really closely with them to understand what it meant for their children and young people to be baptised Sikh and how we could build acceptance, inclusion and empathy within the community to view this as a human right and an inclusive practice.”
“Multiculturalism is important because everybody deserves to be seen for who they are and included, regardless of their background.”
Quotes attributable to Dr. Nilofar Ebrahimi, Community Educator and Health Promotion Officer at Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT (SHFPACT) and founder of the ZamZam Foundation:
“With SHFPACT, I am a Community Educator and Health Promotion Officer, and my responsibility is to transfer information regarding sexual health to my community, which is not easy. But I’m working hard to interest people to come and join us and learn about sexual health. Through ZamZam, we support orphan girls in Afghanistan to continue their education. And in Canberra, we run programs for Afghan migrants - such as driving lessons, swimming classes, cultural sessions, and sexual health education - topics that are often considered taboo in our culture. Our goal is simple but powerful: to empower women and girls, to strengthen communities, and to support our people to settle and feel a sense of belonging in Australia.”
“For me, multiculturalism is more than just a word; it is a commitment to respect and belonging. It means that every person - regardless of their language, ethnicity, or religion - has the right to live with dignity, to be heard, and to be part of the community we share.”
Quotes attributable to Dr. Wilson Lo, Founder of Canberra Dragon Dance:
“Canberra Dragon Dance has been nominated because of our presence around the community, introducing Asian culture into mainstream Australian culture. When I first started Canberra Dragon Dance in 2017, the aim was to perform dragon dance 3-4 times a year at festivals across Canberra. That first year, we performed 32 times, and it increased to 50 the next year and now about 70 times a year. We've been embraced, and not just in festivals that are technically multicultural, but in mainstream parts of Australian society.”
“I love the way that Canberrans really embrace customs from other parts of the world, and I think that’s the way that you fight xenophobia. That’s the way you stop a lot of wars in the world. People should be accepting diversity as a whole... I can see how things have changed over the years, and it will be great to see it change even more, so that everyone is accepted for everything they bring to society.”
- Statement ends -
Michael Pettersson, MLA | Media Releases