{"id":2718,"date":"2019-05-10T00:28:47","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T00:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=2718"},"modified":"2019-05-10T00:28:47","modified_gmt":"2019-05-10T00:28:47","slug":"250-new-novocastrians-welcomed-at-city-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2019\/05\/10\/250-new-novocastrians-welcomed-at-city-hall\/","title":{"rendered":"250 new Novocastrians welcomed at City Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kenyan-born Zac Ekandi has vivid memories of the day he walked into Nairobi\u2019s British Council office 17 years ago tasked with making the biggest decision of his teenage life.
\nMr Ekandi, then 18, was researching options to study abroad. After telling his parents of his desire to study overseas, the family met with a British Council agent to discuss his options.
\n\"Zacinside-(1).jpg\"
\nKenyan Zac Ekandi became a new citizen today after 17 years in Newcastle\u00a0<\/strong>
\n\u201cI remember when I went to see the British Council agent I said I don\u2019t want to go to a big city – big cities are always full of traffic and I wanted somewhere quiet,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThe agent gave me information about studying in Manchester UK and Newcastle Australia and I applied to both universities to study Computer Science.\u201d
\nWhen offers soon followed for places at both universities, it was the promise of a \u2018quiet, coastal lifestyle at Newcastle where I\u2019d be happy most\u2019 that\u00a0stole Mr Ekandi\u2019s heart.
\n\u201cThe agent told me that I\u2019d be most happy here, and I am.\u201d
\n\"citizeninside.jpg\"
\nToday, more than 17 years after trading in Nairobi for Newcastle, the 39-year-old and 249 other people from more than 41 different countries became Newcastle\u2019s newest citizens when they took their oaths and affirmations at City Hall.
\n“It’s always a great honour to welcome new citizens from all corners of the globe,” said City of Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes.
\n“Newcastle is a welcoming city for people of all cultures and religious backgrounds. We are proud to be a culturally diverse, inclusive community.”
\nAboriginal elder Aunty Phyllis Darcey gave a Welcome to Country and entertainment was be provided by indigenous dance group, Wakakulang.
\n\"Zacinside2.jpg\"
\nMr Ekandi, of Jesmond, said becoming an Australian Citizen was a long-held goal and something that he is very proud to be achieving today.
\n\u201cI am extremely excited as it was something that I wanted to do and the last part of the process that I wanted to complete,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cI think one of the things I like so much about Newcastle is the community. I\u2019ve made a lot of friends here, and they\u2019ve been very helpful.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s the kind of community Newcastle is. It\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kenyan-born Zac Ekandi has vivid memories of the day he walked into Nairobi\u2019s British Council office 17 years ago tasked with making the biggest decision of his teenage life. Mr Ekandi, then 18, was researching options to study abroad. After telling his parents of his desire to study overseas, the family met with a British … Continue reading “250 new Novocastrians welcomed at City Hall”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newcastle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2718\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}