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The Multicultural Ambassador’s Awards, which recognise the contribution of one young person and one adult to promote multiculturalism and eliminate racism, and |
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| 2. | Multicultural Community Service Awards, introduced for the first time this year to acknowledge up to five people who have helped to improve access and equity in the provision of services to minority communities. |
When one looks at the Curriculum Vitae of Ramdas Sankaran you would be forgiven for thinking that here was a man approaching the age of 80 rather than the 50 he only recently achieved. He has been involved in the various parts of the Multicultural and Welfare sectors in a variety of roles over the 28 years that he has been in this country. When he arrived here all those years ago and I picked him up at Fremantle Harbour I described him to my late father as an “angry young man”. Now 28 years later the only difference is that he has gotten older. But his anger is not of the destructive type. His is an anger fuelled by the passion of wanting to help every person he could possibly afford to and many that he could not afford to. He is a person who fits my description of being someone who would give you the shirt off his back and if he did not have a shirt, would borrow money to buy one so as to give it to someone in need! 
Ramdas has given his all to the Multicultural Sector over a long time. He has been a tireless worker and fought hard to maintain the ideals of multiculturalism and the recognition of our society as one that is inclusive and understanding. He has done this in the Western Australian community and the wider Australian community by participating in a variety of government and quasi government bodies who have been sanctioned to examine these areas. In addition, almost all of his work has been voluntary and largely unpaid. Yet he has not been one to chase the awards. It took a number of us a long time of convincing to get him to agree to be nominated for this award this year.
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