Slice of Culture Event Cancelled - The Munster Express

Slice of Culture Event Cancelled General Stories The Munster Express

Waterford New Communities Network have expressed disappointed that their annual Slice of Culture event has been cancelled.

The Slice of Culture which began six years ago as a grassroots event with the intention of bringing communities together. It took place in Wyse Park and was well received by those who attended, and valued by the community who organised it and took part.

In a statement about the cancellation of this year’s event Chair of the network, Csilla Czelvikker said, “From the beginning, we believed that integration is a two-way process. It is not only about newcomers adapting to life in Ireland. It is also about creating spaces where people can meet, listen, learn from one another and feel that their culture, identity and contribution are valued as part of the wider community.

“Over six years, A Slice of Culture became much more than an annual festival,” she added.

“It created relationships. It gave migrant communities an opportunity to represent themselves and share their cultures in their own voices. It brought migrant and Irish communities together in the same space and helped develop confidence, volunteering and community leadership.

“Importantly, the relationships formed through A Slice of Culture led to communities beginning to collaborate in organising the festival together. That growing cooperation, trust and shared sense of purpose eventually contributed to the establishment of Waterford New Communities Network, creating a wider platform for migrant communities to connect, participate and have a collective voice in Waterford.

“For those who had the opportunity to visit A Slice of Culture in Wyse Park over the years, its value could be seen in the happy and proud faces of participants standing behind a stall representing their country and culture, or of parents watching their children sing a traditional song in their mother tongue.

“These may appear to be small moments, but they meant a great deal to the people involved. They created pride, recognition and belonging. They gave people an opportunity to say, in a very simple and positive way: this is part of who we are, and we are part of Waterford too.”

Speaking to The Munster Express, Csilla, wanted to emphasise how positive this event has become, and the sense that to lose it would be losing something special at a time when inclusive, migrant-led events are needed in Waterford and beyond.

“Unfortunately, this year we were unable to secure the level of local stakeholder support and resources needed to organise A Slice of Culture in Wyse Park,” she explained.

“This is particularly disappointing because we remain very committed to Wyse Park. It is an accessible city-centre location and a wonderful, perhaps underutilised, asset that has provided a welcoming setting for communities to come together. The absence of A Slice of Culture this year represents a real loss for Waterford and for the communities that spent years building it.

Csilla is appealing to local stakeholders not to allow the Slice of Culture event to simply fade away, but to recognise it and to help those who made it for themselves protect what they have created.

“Six years of trust, relationships, community participation and voluntary effort cannot simply be recreated through a new project or programme,” she explained.

“This is why we are asking our local stakeholders to recognise what has already been built and to consider what may be lost if migrant-led initiatives such as this are expected to continue without meaningful partnership and sustainable support.

“…After six years, we hope that Waterford’s local stakeholders will recognise A Slice of Culture and WNCN not simply as another community initiative seeking support, but as community infrastructure that has taken years to build and is worth protecting and developing.

“There is an opportunity now to build on what already exists rather than allow it to disappear,” she explained.

“We hope this message encourages that conversation and a move towards genuine partnership, shared responsibility and sustainable support for migrant-led community development in Waterford.”

AARON KENT Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme - Munster Express Submit a Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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