From Toowoomba to the world: Local hockey program joins global refugee movement

A regional Queensland sporting club will celebrate their commitment to improving the lives of refugees and host communities through sport by joining a global coalition at a World Refugee Week celebration in Toowoomba this Friday 5th June. 
 
Toowoomba Hockey Association will mark World Refugee Week early by announcing its formal commitment to the Global Refugee Forum Multi-Stakeholder Pledge on Sport for Inclusion and Protection. Joining the Sport for Refugees Coalition places the local Belong in Hockey program alongside an international network of organisations using sport to foster inclusion, well-being and belonging. 

The event will also include the announcement of new funding to continue the initiative’s impact through a Strengthening Multicultural Communities grant from the Department of Women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships and Multiculturalism.

Since launching in 2023, Belong in Hockey has welcomed more than 140 refugees through the doors of Toowoomba Hockey to try the sport, and has become a recognised example of how local sport can help build community connection and settlement outcomes. 

WHEN 

Friday 5 June 2026 
10am – 11.45
Photos, hockey demonstrations with program participants and volunteers, Global Refugee Forum Multi-Stakeholder Pledge on Sport for Inclusion and Protection announcement, media interview opportunities 

WHERE 

Toowoomba Hockey Association 
564 Boundary Street, Toowoomba 

WHO 

• Jessie McCartney, Hockey Manager, Toowoomba Hockey Association 

• Aleem Ali, CEO, Welcoming Australia 

• Program participants,stakeholders and volunteers