2007 National Multicultural Marketing Awards
Inter-faith “Woodstock” wins grand marketing award
Anita Hanicek of the national Interfaith Festival receives the Grand Award from NSW Premier, Morris Iemma
An interfaith festival held in an idyllic hideaway on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast has won the grand prize at the 2007 National Multicultural Marketing Award.
The National Interfaith Festival, organised by the Interfaith Community Development Association set out to combat, what they called, the rising level of tension and fear within Australia, arising from parts of the major religions.
The winners of the annual awards conducted by the Community Relations Commission for the last 18 years were announced at a gala dinner in Sydney tonight hosted by the NSW Premier and Minister for Citizenship, Morris Iemma.
The festival, claimed by the organisers to be the most comprehensive interfaith event ever held in Australia was staged at Maleny, 75 minutes north of Brisbane, which is, according to the local tourist information, a cool green escape from the coastal heat and humidity.
For the sixteen hundred people of all faith backgrounds who gathered in the mountain resort in March this year is was an escape from the heat of religious intolerance and misunderstanding.
Congratulating the winners, the Chair of the CRC, Stepan Kerkyasharian said: “In the 70s people used to go away to the country for weekends of rock and roll. The Interfaith Community development Association devised a religious festival that attracted just as much fervour as the old rock festivals.
“And, there is no more important task today in the pursuit of community harmony than the fostering of religious understanding.
“Of course, the purpose of the project is only one aspect of this award. In large measure, the prize is presented for the marketing plan and its successful implementation
“The plan did not involve spending a lot of money on advertising. People were attracted by word of mouth. The organisers exploited the natural bonds between ethnic communities, something mainstream marketers my not appreciate. That sense of shared experience is a powerful bonding ingredient and it naturally boosted the attendance,” he said.
The festival programme comprised panel discussions with national religious leaders, sacred and religious dance and music performances, ethnic food and “holy hardware’ stalls.
One of the uniquely innovative activities was a demonstration of the rituals and customs of both Jewish and Muslim weddings.
As part of the other 100 activities during the weekend, festival participants heard information on Brahama Kumaris, Zen Buddhism, Sikhism, Progressive Judaism, Seventh Day Adventism, Quakers, Baha’I, Lutheran, aboriginal ‘spirituality and the nature of Islamic prayers.
“In short, the Festival was aiming to counter negative messages and polarisation emerging along faith lines in our society by building a greater sense of connectivity and acceptance,” Mr Kerkyasharian said.
The Interfaith Festival also won the Community Category announced tonight.
Other category winners announced tonight were:
ADVERTISING- Multicultural Marketing and Management for a project to boost the sales of Heinz Hamper brand Corned Beef to the Filipino and Maltese communities
BIG BUSINESS - NRMA for a project to drive up membership and insurance business in the Chinese community.
SMALL BUSINESS – Bollywood Dreams for its success in becoming the “professional hub of all things Indian in Australia.
TECHNOLOGY - eTranslate for its success capturing the contract to sell tickets around the world in all languages and currencies for the Beijing Olympics 2008.
GOVERNMENT – Lismore City Library for its Living Library Project where readers borrow people instead of books to get to know someone different and to understand their difference.
EXPORT – Travelex for a project to change the habits of passengers at Hong Kong airport in changing money.