Thirty-eight Baw Baw Shire residents can now proudly call Australia home.
Council hosted a citizenship ceremony at the Drouin Golf and Country Club last week, in which people of all ages and cultural backgrounds pledged their citizenships and received their official certificate of Australian Citizenship, supported by a proud crowd of family and peers.
The conferees now calling Australia home have been welcomed from China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Kuwait, Mauritius, Nepal, North Macedonia, Philippines, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the United States.
Anuja was one of the conferees who received her citizenship and said "it was a great pleasure to receive my citizenship with my son and my husband, we are all looking forward to getting involved with the Baw Baw community."
Mayor Annemarie McCabe officiated the ceremony alongside Crs Farhat Firdous and Tricia Jones.
Cr Firdous spoke of her personal citizenship experience immigrating from Pakistan with her family.
"I am grateful to Australia and the Gippsland community for providing me a safe place to raise my daughter and I am committed to keeping it safe for our future generations" Cr Firdous said.
"I found that getting involved with community groups and organisations around me was the best way to interact and meet new people living our community. I'd like to welcome our new citizens to Baw Baw and encourage you all to participate in community activities to help build networks, relationships and allow you to feel part of the community".
Cr McCabe said as the shire "continues to grow and our community is enriched with diversity, it is a pleasure to welcome so many families from different cultural backgrounds."
"Each year, Baw Baw is lucky enough to welcome a growing number of citizens choosing to call our shire their new home, with around 120 individuals gaining their citizenship in 2023 alone. I invite everyone to welcome our newest citizens as they begin a new and exciting chapter in Australia."
The next citizenship ceremony will be held on January 26, 2024.
The Warragul and Drouin Gazette
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