Community Voice – Jacob Solomon
Community engagement and input is vital to the success of CCK, and we have been fortunate to work with many passionate community members who collectively work together to help us achieve our vision of building safe inclusive communities, strong families and children who are thriving.
Two of these community members, Carol and Jacob, have taken an exciting step in their careers and are both running for local council. We thought it would be great to get some perspective from them as to how being a part of CCK helped them along this journey and how being a community champion has enabled them to, and given them a voice to, run for council.
Jacob Solomon – running for City of Kwinana District
What role have you played in Celebrate Culture Kwinana?
I have been a member of Celebrate Culture Kwinana since it commenced in 2016. Over the past five years I have helped organise many cultural community events including Long Table Lunches, ‘That was my Home’ events, Multicultural Clothes Party, Neighbour Day events and more! I was also a member of the CCK Joint Leadership Team for one year.
How has this enabled you to embrace your culture and have a voice in the community?
By being a member of Celebrate Culture Kwinana I have been able to showcase my culture to the community through being part of the many cultural events we have organised. The Celebrate Culture Kwinana group are amazing, by being part of this group I have made such strong connections, and they have helped me feel like I belong, and we are all equal.
Our aim is to create a connected inclusive community where everyone can have a voice and share stories about their culture.
What highlights do you have from Celebrate Culture Kwinana?
I have so many highlights! Neighhbour Day on the strand was magical, especially when the Ngaru Pou Inc Singing Group sang to us. The Multicultural dinner was another highlight, the performances were fantastic, and the speakers were inspiring and emotional touching the hearts of everyone who came. The event was a true reflection of unity in the community.
How has being part of Celebrate Culture Kwinana enabled or influenced your decision to run for council?
We are a proudly diverse community and acceptance and understanding of each other’s differences is what makes Kwinana such a great place to live. By seeing the joy on faces when they get the opportunity to talk about their cultures has given me the motivation to become a councillor so I can continue to meet diverse cultures in our community and support the community to be more welcoming to diversity and inclusion.
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