Logan’s workplaces, schools and sporting clubs are being challenged to make newcomers feel they belong after the city hosted the national launch of Welcoming Week.
The campaign was launched at SSI’s new Logan Hub and runs until Sunday 20 September, asking communities to turn welcome into everyday action under the theme Belonging Is Everyone’s Business.
Welcoming Australia chief executive Aleem Ali said inclusion was built through ordinary interactions, not simply through celebrating diversity once a year.
“Belonging doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built, every day, by ordinary people doing extraordinary things,” Mr Ali said.
“That’s why this year’s theme, Belonging Is Everyone’s Business, matters. Every workplace, school, sporting club, council, university, neighbourhood and community has a role to play.”
The Logan launch places that message in a city that is home to people from more than 234 cultures and backgrounds.
Mayor Jon Raven said residents’ different origins were part of the city’s identity.
“Wherever you’re from in the world, you’re welcome in Logan,” he said.
Logan became the first Queensland council to achieve Advanced Welcoming Cities accreditation in 2023.
The national event was held at SSI’s hub on the corner of Ewing Road and Carmody Street, bringing the campaign into a local setting for settlement and community connection.
Mr Ali said belonging should be a starting point, rather than something newcomers had to prove they deserved.
“When systems and communities are designed with everyone in mind, people don’t just arrive and survive; they contribute, they lead, they become the connective tissue of the communities around them,” he said.
Welcoming Week activities involve community groups, employers, councils and sporting organisations across Australia.
The campaign encourages those organisations to consider how their everyday practices help people participate, build relationships and contribute to the places they now call home.
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