On Thursday night, UN Youth SA held its Annual Dinner at Raj on Taj in Hyde Park. The dinner offered the company of many special guests including the Hon. Isobel Redman, Leader of the Opposition, Associate Professor Felix Patrikeeff from the University of Adelaide, Rachel Sanderson MP, Member for Adelaide, Anne Bainbridge from YACSA, Alex Duncan from the All Shades of Grey publications, Ben Trewren from the Oaktree Foundation, Lidia Moretti and Rosemary McKay from the UNAA, and our fantastic guest speaker Brad Chillcot from Welcome to Australia.

"Do we want Australia to be seen as a harsh, hard-line, xenophobic nation? Or do we want to be seen as a country that is just, compassionate and generous?" The response was obvious to all our guests as we listened to Brad Chillcot give his inspiring and compassionate address about the Welcome to Australia initiative. Welcome to Australia aims to foster a genuine understanding amongst the Australian community of the experiences of asylum seekers and other refugees. It seeks to create an Australia where diversity is appreciated and celebrated; where support, kindness and compassion will always be shown to those in need; and where we acknowledge that "no matter who you are, where you're from or how you arrived - you're a person and deserve to live knowing safety, hope and justice." UN Youth SA are proud to have hosted our Annual Dinner as a Welcome to Australia Party. We would like to thank Brad for his time and for his wonderful work with Welcome to Australia, and encourage all of our members to visit www.welcometoaustralia.org.au and find out how you can get involved and offer your support!

Thanks must also go to our outgoing Social Officer Alice Bitmead for her work on the event. With fantastic company and a buffet dinner to defeat even the hungriest of UN Youth SA's men, Annual Dinner was great success and a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the past year and look forward to the one ahead.