Living in Harmony Community Grants 1999

New South Wales

Remaking the Museum’s Introductory Video with Australian Examples

$17,500 Awarded

This project, now completed, aimed at general prevention of anti-Semitism by:

rebutting misinformation/ignorance about Jewish Australians
highlighting their unacknowledged contributions (eg sporting) to Australian society
illustrating the consequences of racist beliefs
focusing on seeking attitude changes among schoolchildren and rural Australians, via updating and distributing a dual-purpose video used for:

introduction for visitors to the Museum
distribution, particularly to schools in rural areas, for those with little knowledge of anti-Semitism and the effects of the Holocaust

The project:

updated an earlier 12-minute video (1992) that introduces visitors to the Sydney Jewish Museum
included new footage about recent racist acts in Australia , replacing earlier US-based material, eg the race riots in Los Angeles
with special rural focus, screened the video to students in Armidale, Newcastle, Taree, Orange and Dubbo in the context of the Courage to Care travelling exhibition
made 1000 copies of the video
is arranging ongoing distribution of the video to schools( including rural) - schools can obtain it from the Museum

The improved introductory video:

has made the Museum more relevant to today’s children by looking at events of racial intolerance in Australia
now takes the audience beyond the Holocaust
infers that racial problems still persist
urges that all must be vigilant and safeguard Australian democracy