A community campaign to save a treasured live music venue, a refugee advocate, a young engineer and a hugely successful multicultural sporting festival have been recognised in the annual City of Adelaide Citizen of the Year awards.
Lord Mayor of Adelaide Dr Jane Lomax-Smith AM recently presented the awards at Adelaide Town Hall following a citizenship ceremony which welcomed 34 conferees from over 20 different countries including Bahrain, Colombia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Lithuania and Serbia.
Inner city resident, Mij Tanith, was named the 2025 Citizen of the Year in recognition of her tireless work as part of the Circle of Friends volunteer organisation to support refugees when they first arrived in Australia.
“It is a honour to recognise Mij for her leadership, compassion, tenacity and determination when it comes to helping those who in need,” said the Lord Mayor.
Mij is an active citizen of the city, particularly in the South-West corner, and has contributed to supporting refugees in our community by ensuring they feel welcome, connected with neighbours and have access to services available to support refugees.
In addition, she has successfully worked with her neighbours and the City of Adelaide to increase garden space and greening of Hamilton Place.
As a member of Circle of Friends Australia Inc, Mij is well known for her long-standing commitment to supporting asylum seekers. This has involved being involved in supporting refugees in the former Baxter Detention Centre and Vietnamese refugee community.
Mij has helped many individuals and families obtain visas, gain permanent residency and escape from conflict, famine and poverty. Although never formally recognised, her work is deeply appreciated by the many people she has helped and supported, as well as the South West community, the Council said in a statement.
Young engineer Julian Zheng was named Young Citizen of the Year while a community campaign to save the Crown and Anchor Hotel received the Active Citizenship of the Year award and the Australian Sikh Games held in Adelaide was named the Community Event of the Year.
The Lord Mayor said the annual City of Adelaide Citizen of the Year Awards were the traditional precursor for the Australia Day long weekend.
“As we have done in previous years, the City of Adelaide is a proud financial supporter of the Australia Day Council which will hold a number of events at Elder Park,” said the Lord Mayor.
“These include a smoking ceremony, official ceremony, firework displays, a multicultural parade, a light show and a food hub.”
