Inner city groups honoured in the Melbourne Awards

A Carlton-based sexual health centre and a family violence memorial in East Melbourne were among the winners at this year’s Melbourne Awards on November 11.

The annual ceremony, which awards the coveted Melburnian of the Year honour, and, for the first time this year, the Young Melburnian of the Year, identifies eight key areas that are central to helping Melbourne thrive, including:

Aboriginal Melbourne (ganbu guljin)
Access and Inclusion
City Design
Arts and Events
Community
Knowledge and Innovation
LGBTIQA+
Sustainability

Located on Swanston St, the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC) took home the LGBTIQA+ award for their work in improving people’s sexual health in a safe, and non-judgmental space.

The centre provides world-class clinical services such as STI testing, diagnosis, and treatment, as well as responding to LGBTIQA+ issues in the community and working with individuals to improve wellbeing and quality of life.

A statement from MSHC read: “Our LGBTQIA+ community still faces numerous challenges, including stigma, human rights issues, and discriminaton, but this award highlights that we need to work together and support each other to strive for the optimal wellbeing for our LGBTQIA+ community.”

The City Design award was presented to the Victorian Family Violence Memorial located on the corner of St Andrews Place and Lansdowne St in East Melbourne, honouring the victims and survivors of family violence.

The landscaped garden features purple flowers that bloom year-round, the colour symbolising the global movement to end family violence, and a pathway that leads to an English Elm tree, representing the passing of time and renewal.

A statement from MUIR Architecture and OPENWORK landscape architects, who collaborated on the project, read: “Our team is grateful for this recognition and we’d very much like to thank the many people who have contributed to the project’s design and delivery.”

The Victorian Cancer Biobank (VCB) in East Melbourne was also among the finalists for the Knowledge and Innovation award, a program that aims to improve clinical outcomes for people with cancer by collecting and distributing tissue samples for cancer research.

“We are very excited about being a finalist for the Melbourne Awards – the recognition as an unsung hero for Melbourne community is very appreciated as it describes well on our contributions as backbone of critical scientific research,” VCB general manager, Dr Wayne Ng told Inner City News.

The Melbourne Awards also recognised Kon Karapanagiotidis OAM as the Melburnian of the Year for his work in developing the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Australia’s largest independent refugee organisation.

Additionally, the Young Melburnian of the Year was awarded to Georgie Stone OAM for the first time since the category was introduced this year, celebrating her advocacy for trans and gender diverse children and youth. •

For more information: