Living in Harmony Community Grants 1999

New South Wales

"You. Me. aUStralian - Harmony in Life" Performance Contest

$52,000 Awarded

This project, now completed, aimed to:

promote cross-cultural understanding through active collaboration and exchange between students, teachers, and parent groups
promote an appreciation of Living in Harmony by inviting students from several state and independent schools in northern Sydney to present their own interpretation of multiculturalism in Australia through performance
help students become aware of the benefits of interacting with Australians of all cultural backgrounds
encourage teachers to promote this interaction

The project:

organised an inter-school performance competition for students to reflect the key messages of Living in Harmony
involved Frenchs Forest, Killarney Heights, Manly Vale, and Manly Village primary schools and Abbotsleigh, The Forest High and Loreto Normanhurst
in collaboration with teachers and parent groups, encouraged students to explore what cultural diversity meant to them and present their interpretations through dance, drama and song in a competitive but fun and non-threatening environment
had 800 dignitaries from various community sectors, parents and children attend the major Performance Night at Willoughby Town Hall
produced a final glossy magazine souvenir for all the participants, with photos of performances plus extra poems and art work by other students
hired a public relations consultant to assist promotion, and the project received a high level of media attention

The project found that:

during preparation work, primary students understood the concepts of multiculturalism and diversity clearly, but struggled with the meaning and understanding of discrimination
staff and students at all schools were most interested in the project and put an enormous amount of thought and effort into their performances
success was also due to an enthusiastic and committed team of volunteers with a diverse range of skills
schools subsequently introduced LIH themes into other key learning areas (even computing assignments) and general writing and socialisation
participating schools performed at a number of other venues, including Loreto and Manly Village schools at Darling Harbour on Australian-Chinese Day, thereby allowing the project to reach out to the general community
reports in two participating schools’ newsletters extended their coverage of the project to discuss the importance of social harmony and multiculturalism

For other groups considering a similar project, ACCA recommends:

when dealing with schools, it is crucial that they are contacted well in advance (February at the very latest) as school calendars fill up so quickly
consider dispensing with the competition side of the performance as:

some schools were reluctant to participate because they do not like children getting involved in competitions
in the end the competition aspect did not enhance the project
the emphasis should be on the opportunity for learning, having fun and participating, and the celebration of performance

take into account that not all schools, especially primary schools, have strong drama or music departments, and some schools have not the capacity or the funding to become involved in a performance
consider incorporating other less resource-intensive (than a concert) areas of artistic expression such as photography, writing and painting, eg by expanding those components in the souvenir magazine