Speeches

Friday, 03 November 2023

OzAsia Festival In Other Words

Welcome to Government House in celebration of the In Other Words program, part of the 2023 OzAsia Festival.

I acknowledge poets, novelists, journalists, playwrights, performers, and creatives who have travelled from around Australia and Asia to Adelaide.

Fantastic to see Adelaide Festival Centre and Elder Park come alive during the last two weeks with the festival.

Rod and I very much enjoyed walking the Moon Lantern Trail on 21 October.

As career diplomats, we loved the years we spent serving in Asia and I loved visiting people and places across the region when I was Canberra based.

I gained a strong appreciation for its cultural richness and diversity, as well as the capacity for the arts to strengthen ties within our Indo-Pacific region.

Pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to growing South Australia’s relationships with Asia now as Governor.

In August visited Malaysia for the first stage of celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the sister-city relationship between Adelaide and George Town.

The arts, heritage, and food and culture provide both a foundation and the prospect of an exciting future for the Adelaide and George Town relationship.

For In Other Words we welcome to Adelaide three Malaysian writers as part of an exchange with Penang’s George Town Literary Festival - Shih-Li Kow, Wan Phing Lim, and Saras Manickam.

Congratulations to OzAsia Festival on the quality of the 2023 In Other Words program, featuring more than 60 writers and thinkers from Asia and Australia and 28 free events.

I acknowledge and thank Artistic Director Annette Shun Wah for the dynamic OzAsia 2023 program, and In Other Words curators Jennifer Wong, Mr Sami Shah and Ms Durkhanai Ayubi for bringing together a diverse group of accomplished, innovative writers and thinkers.

Looking forward to attending:

  • Multiculturalism Malaysian Style, 4 Nov
  • Why Owning Your Narrative Matters, 4 Nov
  • Short Stories: The Malaysian Edit 5 Nov

I thank Douglas Gautier and his team for making the Adelaide Festival Centre the home of the “arts for all”, and I acknowledge the Centre’s 50th anniversary in 2023.

I wish everyone an enjoyable weekend of intellectual and creative exchange – with your audiences, and with each other.

Coming events