The Transcultural Community Council of Lightning Ridge held its annual general meeting on Tuesday night with new office bearers and committee members being elected.
Christina Johansson remained as president, as did Ian Woodcock and Nezaket Schulz as joint vice presidents.
Lovelyn Miglietta was appointed as the secretary/treasurer, while Joan Treweeke maintained her role as public officer.
New member Cilka Zagar, and Slavica Scekic will be the council’s publicity officers.
Committee members for this year are as follows: Maria Sostarec, Gerd Schulz, Helen Buchanan, Mark Kuvailainen, David Lane, Elena Edgley, and Steve Matic.
The council wishes to thank all its outgoing committee members for their work in the past year and welcomes the new committee.
President Christina Johansson said 2001 was a tumultuous year with a few disruptions to routine.
“On the whole the TCC has done well and is still continuing to achieve but it had been a little bit of an uphill battle,” she said.
The TCC participated in the Women on Wheels tour conducted by the Department for Women, while it was touring the far west of NSW and in Lightning Ridge in May last year.
“This was a very good event with many women turning up.”
“The Women on Wheels team brought in a lot of expertise on legal issues, health, arts, police liaison, and domestic violence,” she said.
Also in May the TCC presented the transcultural mental health centre community education, which was a presentation for both young and old about knowing where to turn when family or friends needed some help.
Also that month the Ethnic Affairs Commission had a name change and is now known as the Community Relations Commission for a Multicultural NSW.
“We were invited to go to Sydney to participate in the formalities of this legislative name change,” Ms. Johansson said.
New members were recruited mid-year at the Opal and Gem Festival, and the TCC had a stall promoting various organisations and displaying a multitude of flags.
A funding application to the newly named Community Relations Commission was successful towards the later part of the year with $9000 being granted to the TCC in October.
However, Ms. Johansson said indemnity insurance had become an issue for the community group, with this now being a requirement by their funding bodies.
“In previous years we have held off, due to the cost, but the pressure was put onto us this year, before the service agreement for funding had been signed,” she said.
However, Ms. Johansson said the TCC is proud of its achievements and there is now 53 flags representing different nationalities in the community.
“These (flags) are regularly shown on special community occasions and they look spectacular when they are all on show outside the (Lightning Ridge) Bowling Club,” she said.
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