By Nidhi Kumari and Shashi Narasimhiah

Her business venture had small beginnings before any of the national or transnational projects such as the Premier Harmony Dinner, Cricket World Cup Launch began to take formation,  the Director of the award winning Gandhi Creations and India Australia Business & Community Awards (IABCA), Sonia Sadiq Gandhi represented the Indian community with proud as Ambassador at the prestigious Australia Day. Here’s what she said about her journey and more in an exclusive interview with Indus Age:

On representing the Indian community as Ambassador on Australia Day:

It’s a privilege to be standing on the land of Australia’s first people to welcome the new generation of Australians as 2018 Australia Day Ambassador. It is very humbling and indeed an honour to be able to represent and inspire the wider communities through my Australia Day address. As an Indian Australian it was a matter of great pride to share India’s diversity from culture to commerce through my address.

Her journey in the industry and in Australia:

My personal journey began in Australia 21 years ago when I came to NSW as an international student. Just like many of your reading this article, I wasn’t just passing through Australia, I made an informed choice and decision to embrace the abundance of opportunities this land had on offer. A lot of hard work and perseverance goes in to integrating in to a new society, leaving your mother land and calling Australia home.

As I began my journey as a curious and wide-eyed Indian migrant in Australia, I was overwhelmed by the multitude of different cultures, upbringings and beliefs that surrounded me, providing a network of global perspectives from which I could learn and grow. The reason I found it welcoming because of my upbringing under an ingrained caste system, a system that creates impressions of people based on their background or their social status, a system that rewards social climbing and creates conflicts with those who don’t engage with it. In Australia, the only conflicts I bore witness to were conflicts over which footy clubs are the best and the validity of Vegemite as something that you eat.

In 2007 I set out to use the diversity I could see around me and turn it into unity, a value which I cherish to this day and a value I hope to instill in communities through my multicultural marketing and event management company, Gandhi Creations. Like any emerging business it was small beginnings, picking up various community projects such as Rotary before any of the national or transnational projects such as the Premier Harmony Dinner, Cricket World Cup Launch began to take formation. I am incredibly blessed to now have this platform to continue promoting cultural diversity and foster social cohesion, and to have an amazing support network around me to keep me grounded and ensure that I am using this platform to the best of it’s potential.

On being an inspiration:
Since I was three years old I have always wanted to make a difference, from selling cookies at school fairs to reading books to the not so privileged, very early in life I realised that we are here for a short period of time and we need to leave a legacy behind and make a difference in the lives of other people in everything that we do. I believe that I have always had the desire to be an inspiration to others, but I am grateful every day that I have been equipped with the tools and network to make that dream a reality.

Personal contribution to Australian society:
Aside from creating sustainable projects that bridge cultures and bind communities, I would have to say that using our events to raise nearly $100,000 for charitable initiatives that are very close to migrant communities would be my proudest contribution.

With Indian population in Australia being over 400000 her contribution to socially integrate the Indian migrants with Australia:

We have created an incredible national platform called the India Australia Business & Community Awards. Now in its fifth year, IABCA celebrates the Australia India relationship and raises awareness of Indians in Australia and Australians in India, in a way that encourages further growth in relations between the two countries.

Mantra to stay motivated:
There isn’t a magical mantra that keeps anyone motivated, it’s the appreciation and gratitude of simple things in life that keep your energy and motivation levels at its peak, from the time you open your eyes to the time you close them, every breath is a blessing.

A piece of advice that has stayed with her:
The ability to accept, tolerate, listen, and understand cultural perspectives without being judgemental. You can never make a judgemental call on any situation unless you are in the situation yourself.
An advice for the younger generation:

1. Become familiar with Indigenous history and ensure that you understand how significant it is to Australia.
2. Build a support structure around you, it is vital to your success to be able to have mentors and people who guide you along the way.
3. Volunteer if you can, my volunteering with CAPA led me to some amazing initiatives and I met very interesting people.
4. Take an Australian to an Indian event and build on that inter cultural connectivity

Future Plans:

To continue to work in the cultural diversity space through my business and our events. I want to make sure that people’s stories are told but more importantly I want everyone’s story to be heard through our events. We are in the middle of launching a major project called Fashions of Multicultural Australia, (FOMA) a first ever national initiative that will integrate cultures and create social cohesion through the universally binding industry that is fashion. A platform for migrant and refugee designers to showcase their talent. Watch this space!