News

 Guest blog by Freyja Dixon: On the 11th October I was honoured to represent the Welcome Dinner Project at the International Student Awards at the Opera House. We had been nominated by our partners at the University of Newcastle Sydney Campus for the award in the...

We have just wound down our annual fundraising campaign, we couldn’t be happier with how it was run and what we achieved. In just two short weeks we managed to launch our paying it forward “It’s my shout’ campaign, reach over 25,000 individuals with the message of The...

Guest blog by Liz Dare As people from all walks of life walked through the door of my first Welcome Dinner at the Bentley Community Centre on Sunday evening, I was feeling a little nervous, as I’m sure most attendees were. As a facilitator, I knew that everyone coming...

During 2015 the founding coordinator of the Queensland Welcome Dinner Project (WDP), Lauren Moore, embarked on an overseas adventure and Libby Blom stepped into the role. The Welcome Dinner Project team would like to thank Lauren for all the energy she put into the...

Reflection by Kim Cootes (Fairfield Public School): On Thursday 31 March, Fairfield Public School hosted their first Welcome Dinner. This was the first Welcome Dinner to be held in a school setting since the inception of the Welcome Dinner Project.  Over 70 people...

Listening changes minds and sharing personal stories changes hearts. That's what's happening around our dinner tables! Two incredibly beautiful and powerful Welcome Dinners (actually a brunch!) took place for Harmony Week in March 2016. The first gathering brought...

During Harmony Week, March 2016, we held our first Community Welcome Dinner in Liverpool (western Sydney). A big thank you to the Liverpool Migrant Resource Centre for partnering with us and hosting the event! It was a really fun night with the most incredible dishes...

Are you a Welcome Dinner Champion? One of the most amazing things about The Welcome Dinner Project is its accessibility to people of any age and background. Everyone who participates or volunteers is contributing in their own way and making a difference. For our...

If you are one of the thousands of people who have registered to participate or host a Welcome Dinner, you may be wondering why you haven’t had a turn yet. In the past year alone, we have doubled the number of dinners (and lunches) held and we are about to reach the...

On the first weekend in April we had an amazing Sunday at the Blak Markets in La Perouse (Sydney), where over 40 newly arrived friends were welcomed by our First People in a special welcome ceremony, with captivating cultural performances and dance. This was followed...