A night to remember: GEMCO Gala Awards Night in Sydney

GEMCO Awards Night at Blacktown Leisure Centre, Stanhope Gardens, was one of the most amazing events in Sydney in the recent past. Achievers in the fields of academics, culture, science and sports were awarded by the South Asian Community in Australia. It was a great platform to recognise extraordinary talent and outstanding contributions of people, who are creating a difference in the multicultural Australian society.

At the extremely well organised event, Harman Foundation CEO Harinder Kaur, was honoured as one of the winners. Other  Outstanding Achievers for 2022  recognised across a range of categories included Harjas Singh (selected in the Australian under-19 team of the tournament), Vansh Sharma (youngest published poet in Australia), Sashi Chelliah (2018 winner of MasterChef Australia), Aayush Sharma (designer), Navonakar Singh (Fourth highest Australian bravery Decoration), Aditi Mamtani (Arete Labs – the first independent research and development lab in Australia), Janaki Easwar (winner of The Voice 2022), Harry Solomon (who had provided cricket kits to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Fiji and Uganda), Devinder S Dharia (trained hundreds of students in bhangra and singing), Prof A H Milton (translated  25 Sheik Mujibur Rehman’s works from Bengali to English) and Honorary Consulate General of Nepal Deepak Khadka (raised funds for COVID relief in Nepal).

Throughout the evening, MCs Nitin Madan and Sakshi were excellent. Sanchi Anand was amazing with her keyboard performance. Down To Bhangra Boys set the stage on fire. Madison Function Centre provided tasty Indian cuisines.

The event saw the attendance of as many as 800 people from the multicultural Australian society. Navneet Anand and the team took the award show to the next level; as Donna Davis, Lord Mayor of Parramatta stated, “The GEMCO Sydney Outstanding Achiever/Talent Awards honour and recognise the social, creative and business achievements of the South Asian Community. These include Harinder Kaur of the Harman Foundation and Dr Abul Hasnat Milton. It was a pleasure to join Chris Minns, Julia Finn, MP, and Steve Kamper as guest presenters alongside Mr Deepak K Khadka, Hon. Consul General, Nepal. There was great representation from the local government, including Deputy Lord Mayor Sameer Pandey, Dr Peter Gangemi – Mayor of The Hills Shire Council.” Dr Peter Gangemi, Mayor of the Hills Shire Council, wrote on Facebook, “Congratulations to all the amazing award winners of the GEMCO Awards. It was a privilege to be in attendance with Rajiv Chaudhri from the Community Foundation Of North Western Sydney and five-time ICC Umpire of the year Simon Taufel. Congrats to the incredible Navneet Anand for organising such a grand event!”