Venue: Forrest Park, Walcott Street, My Lawley
Time: 12:30pm - 6pm
Contact: Lucy 0403412513
The Perth event will be a 20/20 match between a Zimbo team and an Otha team (largely Australians and South Africans).
The event is free and open to anyone.
Bring your own picnic (note: we didn't get permission from the council to consume alcohol) and mingle with Zimbabweans and friends, with music that reminds us of 'home'.
This is a social event so guests are asked to please leave politics at home.
There's a playground for the kids too!
Supported by:
North Beach IGA
HeliAirIt
Ribbon of Africa
T&V Fencing
Monday 20 August 2007
Sunday 19 August 2007
Addressing the Prime Minister
Thursday 16th August 2007
The Hon John Howard MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Dear Mr Howard,
In May this year you announced a decision to prevent the Australian Cricket team from touring Zimbabwe this September.
We, the Zimbabwean Diaspora, feel it is important that we do something to recognise the significance of this decision. As a result, on Saturday 1st September Zimbabweans worldwide will participate in ‘Play for Zimbabwe’. This initiative will allow Zimbabweans, wherever they are, to gather together for a game of cricket in celebration of our people’s humour, hope and resilience.
One core event will take place in Perth and we feel it is important to both acknowledge and appreciate that while residing Australia we experience the freedom and stability to express our solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe. We remain thankful for the opportunities Zimbabwean Diaspora find in Australia. We offer our assurance that it is in no way our intention to disrupt the harmony of the Australian community.
Thank you for your decisions, which have naturally had Australia’s best interests at heart, but also adhere by a sense of global responsibility to acknowledge that the situation in Zimbabwe is neither normal nor acceptable.
On behalf of Zimbabweans everywhere, warm regards.
The Hon John Howard MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600
Dear Mr Howard,
In May this year you announced a decision to prevent the Australian Cricket team from touring Zimbabwe this September.
We, the Zimbabwean Diaspora, feel it is important that we do something to recognise the significance of this decision. As a result, on Saturday 1st September Zimbabweans worldwide will participate in ‘Play for Zimbabwe’. This initiative will allow Zimbabweans, wherever they are, to gather together for a game of cricket in celebration of our people’s humour, hope and resilience.
One core event will take place in Perth and we feel it is important to both acknowledge and appreciate that while residing Australia we experience the freedom and stability to express our solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe. We remain thankful for the opportunities Zimbabwean Diaspora find in Australia. We offer our assurance that it is in no way our intention to disrupt the harmony of the Australian community.
Thank you for your decisions, which have naturally had Australia’s best interests at heart, but also adhere by a sense of global responsibility to acknowledge that the situation in Zimbabwe is neither normal nor acceptable.
On behalf of Zimbabweans everywhere, warm regards.
Friday 10 August 2007
International Press Release
Pushing Past Politics, Play For Zimbabwe Must Go On
Australia’s Cancellation of Cricket Tour Inspires Worldwide Day of Play
With the Australian government’s refusal to let its national Cricket team tour Zimbabwe in September, the cancellation of the highly-anticipated event leaves a void among fans and a country struggling to hang on to its normalcy. Young Zimbabweans are taking matters into their own hands, attempting for only one day to help fill the void with Play For Zimbabwe, a grass-roots effort to organize cricket games around the world on Sept. 1, 2007.
The event will take place in several cities and towns across Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Africa, the USA and Canada. Zimbabweans and cricket lovers alike from around the globe are encouraged to be a part of games near them on Sept. 1. From backyards and playgrounds, to streets and clubs, organizers and players will enjoy a day where the focus is not on political ideology or its effects, but simply on the game of Cricket; a sport that crosses racial, political and socioeconomic lines.
“By celebrating the strengths of our people—that is, the hope, humour and resilience—we are starting to rebuild our sense of national pride and demonstrating that we still believe in our right to a future, that we haven't given up,” organizer for the Australian region Lucy Jarvis said. “The Play For Zimbabwe initiative is an avenue for Zimbabweans to express their love for a nation at a time when all we get is bad news.”
Organizers are using the extended network of young Zimbabweans around the globe, utilizing social networks on the Internet and blog sites, in a grassroots effort to promote unity among scattered citizens of the struggling nation. Mostly university students from Zimbabwe who are not currently in their home country are coordinating games.
“The initiative appeals to this generation in particular because of its simplicity and its optimistic nature,” the event’s blog site states. “It is different, but it is increasingly evident that in order to make a difference, a different approach is needed.”
Kwapi T. Vengesayi, who is helping to organize a day of play on the West coast of the United States, describes the importance of cricket to his generation as it has helped to build bridges between race and class divisions in Zimbabwe. He also notes the pride and unity in Zimbabwe as a result of the team’s display of the national colors in their uniform.
Like many other young people, this generation of Zimbabweans is finding hope in the potential for sport to represent the vision of a unified country. More importantly, they are celebrating the strength and power that is a current reality among them, as they are able to organize a worldwide event like Play For Zimbabwe.
Australia’s Cancellation of Cricket Tour Inspires Worldwide Day of Play
With the Australian government’s refusal to let its national Cricket team tour Zimbabwe in September, the cancellation of the highly-anticipated event leaves a void among fans and a country struggling to hang on to its normalcy. Young Zimbabweans are taking matters into their own hands, attempting for only one day to help fill the void with Play For Zimbabwe, a grass-roots effort to organize cricket games around the world on Sept. 1, 2007.
The event will take place in several cities and towns across Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Africa, the USA and Canada. Zimbabweans and cricket lovers alike from around the globe are encouraged to be a part of games near them on Sept. 1. From backyards and playgrounds, to streets and clubs, organizers and players will enjoy a day where the focus is not on political ideology or its effects, but simply on the game of Cricket; a sport that crosses racial, political and socioeconomic lines.
“By celebrating the strengths of our people—that is, the hope, humour and resilience—we are starting to rebuild our sense of national pride and demonstrating that we still believe in our right to a future, that we haven't given up,” organizer for the Australian region Lucy Jarvis said. “The Play For Zimbabwe initiative is an avenue for Zimbabweans to express their love for a nation at a time when all we get is bad news.”
Organizers are using the extended network of young Zimbabweans around the globe, utilizing social networks on the Internet and blog sites, in a grassroots effort to promote unity among scattered citizens of the struggling nation. Mostly university students from Zimbabwe who are not currently in their home country are coordinating games.
“The initiative appeals to this generation in particular because of its simplicity and its optimistic nature,” the event’s blog site states. “It is different, but it is increasingly evident that in order to make a difference, a different approach is needed.”
Kwapi T. Vengesayi, who is helping to organize a day of play on the West coast of the United States, describes the importance of cricket to his generation as it has helped to build bridges between race and class divisions in Zimbabwe. He also notes the pride and unity in Zimbabwe as a result of the team’s display of the national colors in their uniform.
Like many other young people, this generation of Zimbabweans is finding hope in the potential for sport to represent the vision of a unified country. More importantly, they are celebrating the strength and power that is a current reality among them, as they are able to organize a worldwide event like Play For Zimbabwe.
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