Welcoming Wednesday – Welcoming Week Spotlight on: MOSAIC Festival

Wednesday 26th August 2026

This week for our Welcoming Wednesdays story, we’re kicking off our Welcoming Week: Spotlight On…. series and taking the opportunity to showcase one of our upcoming Welcoming Week events, the one and only MOSAIC Festival!

The MOSAIC Festival is South Australia’s Largest Youth-Led Intercultural Festival – and one of our favourite receommendations on the annual Welcoming Week calendar! We sat down with Cat Barr from the MOSAIC Festival Committee and MOSAIC Exec Team to find out just what makes it so special.

After you read her reflections, you’ll want to be there, too! Book your tickets here

What do you hope people walk away from a night at MOSAIC Festival feeling?

More than anything, I want somebody to walk away from MOSAIC thinking, ‘I belong here.’

Not just at the Festival, in Adelaide and in the wider community around them.
There is so much happening across the night, from food and performances to storytelling, cultural displays and activities, but underneath all of that is a simple human need to be seen, heard and accepted.

Sometimes that means seeing your own culture represented proudly. Sometimes it is discovering somebody else’s story or traditions. Sometimes it is arriving alone, talking with one of our volunteers and suddenly finding yourself connected with people you otherwise may never have met.

If somebody leaves feeling closer to another person, their identity or the place they call home, that truly means so much. 
I also hope people recognise that belonging is not only about finding where you fit. Every one of us can help somebody else feel that there is a place for them too. 

MOSAIC Festival has been shared as a key Welcoming Week event for a number of years now – how does this year’s theme of “Belonging is Everyone’s Business” resonate for MOSAIC?

It honestly feels like a theme that could have been written for MOSAIC.

We describe what we do as being ‘by the community, for the community and with the community’, and we do reflect that in how we operate.
There is a traditional African philosophy called Ubuntu, meaning “I am because we are.” To me, it speaks to compassion, humanity and the idea that who we become is shaped through our relationships with others.
I feel that throughout MOSAIC.

We celebrate the highs together, support each other through the lows, and create opportunities for cultural traditions, stories, skills and ideas to be shared. Friendships form, partnerships develop and people who might never otherwise have crossed paths find themselves sitting together, volunteering alongside one another or simply having a conversation.
Australia has never truly been monocultural. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have maintained diverse cultures here for tens of thousands of years, while generations upon generations of migration have continued shaping the country we know today. To me, multiculturalism is not separate from Australian life.

It is a part of Australian life, it is who we are.

The heart behind it all – tell us about why host MOSAICFestival, who is involved, who is invited, how do people get connected?

The heart of MOSAIC is creating opportunities for people to genuinely connect, not just in attending the same event. There’s a difference between an ‘event’ and ‘community-building’. An event is when you have people facing forward, focusing on what the organiser has created. Community-building is when you have people facing each other. It is this philosophy, among others, that has guided the MOSAIC Festival over the years. The event is completely co-designed in the most grassroots way imaginable – communities are consulted and provided a platform to make decisions that directly impact the delivery of the festival every step of the way. The entire event is designed around those participating – not simply engaging communities in passive involvement but as active decision-makers.

We want communities to have ownership over how their cultures and stories are shared, and we want our volunteers to feel they can bring their own skills, ideas and experiences into what we create together.
Everybody is invited. You do not need to come from a particular cultural background, already know someone involved or arrive with a group. Some people come with family and friends. Others come alone.

Connection can happen through a cultural stall, over food, through performances and activities, in the Bazaar, through facilitated speed-friending or group singing sessions, or by attending a ‘Book’ in our Living Library and connecting through stories.
Sometimes it only takes one conversation, a hug, a smile.

That is something I have experienced on a deeply personal level too. When I first joined MOSAIC in 2022, I was given the space to contribute, to truly be listened to and discover what I was capable of. That experience is the reason I’m about to complete my fourth Festival and a big part of why I care so strongly about making sure others are given that same opportunity.

For me, inclusion is not simply stating: ‘You are welcome here.’ It is showing someone: 
“Your voice matters here.”

After multiple sold out events, you surely have a lot of stories to tell! Are there some favourite moments or stories of connection and belonging you want to share?

Some of the moments that have stayed with me the most are actually the quiet ones that people don’t generally see.
We’ve had people sign up as completely new volunteers and then come back the following week and say they already felt accepted within the team. 

We have seen guests arrive alone at our events, isolated, and leave having made new connections.
One volunteer had nearly given up their passion for photography altogether. Through MOSAIC, they found somewhere their work was valued, were able to practise, experiment and upskill, and eventually rekindle that passion to turn it into a small side career.

Another moment was after MOSAIC Festival 2025, our volunteers and team ended up sitting together almost in a circle in the middle of the venue once everything had finished.
It was completely unplanned.
Nobody was performing, organising anything or trying to capture content. We were all just there together, entirely exhausted, taking in what had been achieved and what was the conclusion to a phenomenal, euphoric evening.
For me, that quiet moment almost said everything there is to say about MOSAIC. 

Beyond the Festival itself is a group of people who genuinely care about what they are creating together and about each other. 💜

Find more Welcoming Week events, host your own or download welcoming messages to share this Welcoming Week here