Fil-Australian siblings Maynah and Jozef Borja Erece are no strangers to overcoming adversity, physical challenges, trials and tribulations throughout their academic lives. Today, they advocate to be voices for people whose stories will never be told. Their advocacy has led them to organise the annual Grand Autumn Festival in Springfield and their efforts have been acknowledged as finalists in the Awards Australia- 7News Young Achiever Awards to be presented on May 19, 2023.
The young leaders with advise from their elders have created a family friendly multicultural festival where hundreds of volunteer performers and thousands of guests gather over a weekend for a family-friendly festival complete with live performances, food stalls, and cultural exhibits in promotion of multicultural solidarity in our local communities and beyond. The centrepiece of the Festival is the international launching of the novel, Three Worlds.
It is a historical fiction narrative about three characters growing up post Noli me Tangere. It will place the readers through contemporary Philippine history from the eyes of people who lived through them. I hope that every Filipino in their lifetime will be able to read what we have to share as it elevates the uniquely Filipino trait of "PUSO" to a whole new level of understanding. It is scheduled for international release (print and electronic on-line for global access) during the Festival on May 27, 2023. -Maynah and Jozef Borja Erece
The young leaders continue to spearhead the Grand Autumn Festival in Springfield, formerly the Philippines-Australia Autumn Festival that has survived the recession, the global pandemic and continuing supply chain and funding problems. The evolution of the festival this year from its original inception as the Philippines-Australia Autumn Festival represents the ongoing progress in local communities and the world at large from partition and segregation to multiculturalism, agapé, and shared destiny. The vision is an annual national destination event at Greater Springfield represented by the diverse stories, backgrounds, and journeys that have brought us here and made us who we are.
Maynah graduated with a Double degree, a Bachelor in Arts (Creative and Critical Writing) and a Bachelor in Science (Psychology) with Distinction (summa cum laude) while maintaining her academic scholarship throughout her studies, and Jozef was once history's youngest lawyer with two Masters degrees, Master in Laws (summa cum laude) and Masters in Corporate Law (magna cum laude).
From Saturday, 27 May 2023 - Sunday, 28 May 2023, the Robelle Domain Parklands in Springfield Central, Queensland will form the venue Saturday will prominently feature the cultural showcases with Sunday bringing family fun to the fore. There will be a lineup of attractions and entertainment including traditional performances by representatives of local cultural groups, live music, and contemporary solo and group vocal and dance numbers featuring local talents. To add to the excitement this year, the Saturday evening block is set to showcase an original theatre in the park experience entitled Our World, a production centred on themes of friendship, empathy, cultural identity, and the universality of the human experience created for the stage by Maynah herself.
