Living in Harmony Community Grants 1999

Queensland

A.C.C.E.S.S. Inc.- Logan and Beenleigh Migrant Resource Centre

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Living in Harmony through Recognition and Reconciliation

$50,700 Awarded

| Aims | Activities | Outcomes |

Aims

This project, now completed, aimed to:

  • improve people’s awareness of:

    • the importance of recognition of different cultures

    • Reconciliation with Indigenous Australians

    • the relationship between Reconciliation and Living in Harmony

  • deal with:

    • issues of cultural indifference

    • why it is wrong to be intolerant and racist

  • enhance effective communication and recognition among all participants, to help develop harmonious living relationships

  • educate students, parents and teachers on issues of immigration, Reconciliation and multiculturalism

  • promote the development and positive impacts of multicultural Australia

  • incorporate specific workshop objectives to:

    • build better relationships between students of all cultures by enabling them to understand their own and their peers cultural backgrounds and experiences

    • ensure school communities are more responsive to cross-cultural challenges by skilling students to run their own community education activities in their own schools

    • promote greater respect for and acceptance of cultural difference by identifying the harm and danger of racism, including racist bullying

    • explore key concepts such as multiculturalism, Reconciliation and racism

Activities

The project:

  • developed:

    • detailed outlines for workshops

    • a comprehensive resource guide for students, teachers and community about issues relating to cultural diversity in Australia, I’m Proud of Me – I am Young, I am Strong, and I love Diversity!

  • held:

    • a preliminary workshop for teachers

    • a series of four workshops in four high schools, on the themes of:

      • Understanding who we are

      • Exploring Racism

      • Recognising the Challenge of Migration for Families

      • Encouraging Harmony and Respect between Cultures

    • a special "one day intensive" workshop on the above topics in a fifth school to mark Harmony Day

    • two student symposiums – one for schools in the Logan and Beenleigh region and one for schools in the Inala-Ipswich region, which:

      • enabled schools from 15 schools to come together for networking and exchange of views

      • gave representatives from local ethnic communities the opportunity to:

      • become involved with schools as expert advisers

      • demonstrate their worth as valuable human resources who can extend the curriculum

    • two workshops for parents, with the major issues arising being parents’:

      • fear of racism against their children

      • reluctance to approach schools about racist incidents

      • worries about not taking an active part in their children’s education because of difficulties in communicating in English

    • incorporated simulation games into workshops, such as:

      • Challenging Racism (explores situations of various groups in society, including Indigenous Australians, refugees, and migrants)

      • Stereotypes (cultural influences)

      • Yes/No/Smiling (cross-cultural communication)

      • Saving Face (power imbalances between cultural groups)

      • Drawing a House (how cultural perspectives alter perceptions)

    • held a "Multicultural T-shirt" competition, focusing on themes to raise public appreciation of multiculturalism, with:

      • an exhibition of all 70+ T-shirt entries at the Logan Art gallery

      • the winning one being printed and widely distributed, in order to:

        • promote Living in Harmony to the general public

        • encourage positive thinking on the Living In Harmony theme

    • used a variety of evaluation techniques with the students to measure changes in attitudes before/after the workshops

Outcomes

The project:

  • noted that many of the teachers in the "partner" high schools:

    • had previously felt that multicultural issues were very complex and potentially contentious

    • felt that it was easier for schools to superficially cover the issues through activities such as a "Multicultural Day" rather than run longer programs

    • expressed gratitude that the project was able to tackle the issues at more depth in the school context

  • noted that:

    • many of the students mistakenly believed a number of the old "myths" about migrants and refugees, eg:

      • about the Government benefits they were thought to receive

      • similar myths about Indigenous people

    • the workshop format was the most effective model for students to explore issues relating to cultural diversity in a more meaningful way

    • it was most effective to work with senior students in leadership positions in the schools who could generate further activities, rather than with the originally targeted Year 10s

  • after formally closing, extended the initiative by holding extra training sessions with some of the older students from the forums, which were essentially "train the trainer" sessions for getting the Harmony message across to younger students

  • found some difficulties in raising enthusiasm at Inala as schools were sceptical about an organisation from the Logan and Beenleigh symposium attempting to organise a symposium in the Inala-Ipswich area

  • noted that one of the schools involved, Mabel Park High, received a Queensland Premier’s award for "excellence in providing multicultural services for the community"

  • received funding from Multicultural Affairs Queensland to run workshops similar to the project workshops in Logan and Beenleigh schools

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