Over ten years ago, we initiated the WOMADelaide Community Access Program. The initiative was designed to provide access to individuals and organisations who wouldn't normally have the chance to experience the World's Festival.
The program has grown extensively, in 2019 providing almost 300 tickets to a wide range of community groups. The program enables youths and adults the chance to experience the festival, whether it be for a day or the entirety of the weekend.
Here is some feedback from past recipients of Community Access Program tickets:
"The opportunity gave us experiences of music and culture that was out of our regular sphere. We loved it"
"We thank you for a most wonderful day at WOMAD for our family. Our children were excited to be involved in all that was on offer, particularly KidZone! This was an event that we would not have been able to access without your generosity. We are extremely appreciative."
"I attended Womadelaide on Monday with a refugee friend of mine. Neither of us had been to Womadelaide before and with his limited English, I found it interesting trying to explain the event to him. It was a great afternoon ... It was really nice to see him enjoying himself; almost as if he was able to take "time out" from the "refugee situation" for a few hours. Music certainly brings people together; people from all walks and places of life ... thanks to Womadelaide for the tickets. The afternoon was a blessing to both of us"
In 2019, the program extended to eleven organisations. These groups include young refugees, Indigenous communities, people subjected to trauma and people of all ages, nationalities and life experiences. The more than 250 guests will be welcomed to WOMADelaide, in partnership with:
- Adelaide Secondary School of English
- Australian Refugee Association
- Baptist Care - Refugee Services
- Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music
- Department of Education and Child Development - Aboriginal Inclusion
- Department of Education and Child Development
- Housing Australia
- Maree, Nepabunna and Copley Indigenous Community
- Mission Australia
- Survivors of Torture and Trauma Assistance and Rehab services (STTARS)
- Youth With A Mission
We're proud of this program and how much it has developed over the past decade, giving these organisations and the people they support the chance to experience the festival.
Many will be able to see artists from their homelands and participate in the inclusive breadth of the world's diverse cultures that WOMADelaide brings to Botanic Park in just under 2 weeks time.