On Saturday 7th November, the Civic Green in Warrnambool will once again become a particularly colourful expression of what community can look like.
The Warrnambool Multicultural Festival brings together thousands of people to experience music, dance, storytelling, food, art and traditions from cultures represented across our region. The 2026 festival is expected to welcome more than 4,000 people.
It is easy to look at an event like this and think about celebration, but multiculturalism is about much more than celebrating food, music and culture.
It is about belonging. And belonging is a leadership issue.
Inclusion benefits everyone. An inclusive community isn't one where everyone is the same.
It is one where people can participate, contribute and belong without having to erase the parts of themselves that make them different.
Our communities are made stronger by different experiences, perspectives, languages, histories, skills and ways of seeing the world.
When people feel connected to their community, they are more likely to participate, volunteer, build relationships and contribute their skills.
When people encounter experiences different from their own, they have opportunities to learn.
When people feel safe to contribute, communities gain access to ideas and capabilities that might otherwise remain invisible.
Inclusion expands what a community is capable of.
Events like the Warrnambool Multicultural Festival provide an important opportunity to celebrate diversity.
But community leaders need to ask what happens between festivals.
Are culturally diverse people represented in our committees and boards?
Are they involved in decisions that affect them?
Are community consultations accessible?
Do we know who isn't participating?
Are we creating opportunities for people to build relationships across cultural groups?
This is where inclusive community engagement becomes important.
It isn't enough to invite everyone into the room if the room itself has been designed around the assumptions and expectations of only some people.
Inclusive engagement asks us to think about how we engage, not simply who we invite and true belonging requires leadership
Leadership can be as simple as noticing who isn't at the table, but that is only the first step. Often, it requires building a relationship before asking someone to participate and adjust how and when we engage with people from different backgrounds.
Inclusive leaders also listening without expecting someone from a particular cultural background to educate everyone else or carry the cultural load. And it requires challenging stereotypes when we encounter them.
Last year’s inaugural Belonging South West Multicultural Forum, a project from our 2025 Community Leadership program, demonstrated this shift from celebrating diversity towards having deeper conversations about inclusion and belonging. The forum grew from work connected to the Warrnambool Multicultural Festival and brought together community leaders, employers, educators, services and multicultural representatives.
It is that progression that matters. Celebration creates connection. Connection creates understanding. Understanding creates the possibility of meaningful inclusion.
Rather than asking:
"How can we include more diverse people?"
perhaps the better question is:
"What would our community look like if everyone had a genuine opportunity to belong and contribute?"
That question challenges all of us, because an inclusive community isn't something we build for other people. It is something we build together.