	{"id":172990,"date":"2025-10-23T04:00:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T17:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?p=172990"},"modified":"2025-10-22T14:53:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T03:53:57","slug":"multicultural-spirit-shines-at-local-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/multicultural-spirit-shines-at-local-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"Multicultural spirit shines at local forum"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>THE Armstrong Creek Community Forum has showcased the federal government&#8217;s commitment to building stronger and more inclusive communities.<\/p>\n<p>More than 40 people attended the event at the Biyal-a Armstrong Creek Library on Tuesday this week, hosted by Corangamite federal member Libby Coker and Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Julian Hall.<\/p>\n<p>Attendees represented different cultural backgrounds from the Surf Coast, Bellarine and broader Geelong region and shared their views on access to services, pathways for new migrants and the importance of social cohesion.<\/p>\n<p>Ms Coker said the forum reflected the strong multicultural spirit that defines her electorate.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Armstrong Creek and the wider Geelong region are home to people from every corner of the world \u2014 and that&#8217;s part of what makes our communities so vibrant.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This forum was a chance to listen, learn and celebrate our diversity while tackling the practical challenges some people in these communities face.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>THE Armstrong Creek Community Forum has showcased the federal government&#8217;s commitment to building stronger and more inclusive communities. More than 40 people attended the event at the Biyal-a Armstrong Creek Library on Tuesday this week, hosted by Corangamite federal member Libby Coker and Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Julian Hall. Attendees represented different [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/multicultural-spirit-shines-at-local-forum\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":172992,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-172990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Multicultural spirit shines at local forum - Surf Coast Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Geelong Multicultural Forum celebrated diversity and tackled challenges for new migrants. 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