On 15 December I joined the Afghan Fajar Association at the Afghan Refugee Youth Achievement (ARYA) Awards Night. The night was a celebration of diversity and the immense talent within the Afghan communities in sydney. The ARYA Awards focuses on celebrating the contributions of refugees, particularly younger people, to their communities and their efforts in living by their Australian values of community citizenship, volunteering, companionship and giving back. The AFAIC undertake many projects with support from local organisations to reach multicultural youths, particularly those in disadvantaged backgrounds. The work of organisations like AFAIC do to help our refugee communities allows multiculturalism to thrive. It was great to see the achievements of our young people and the empowerment of people from CALD backgrounds. Thank you to the AFAIC for having me and congratulations to all the volunteers involved in putting together this great event.