Living in Harmony Community Grants 1999

Queensland

Unity and Diversity-Cross-Cultural Educational and Interactional Project

$57,000 Awarded

This project, now completed, aimed to:

promote concepts of "Unity in Diversity" by
raise community awareness of cross cultural issues
correct local misconceptions about immigration
challenge stereotypical racial views involving young people and schools in particular
help build a harmonised and united community
achieve goals through mounting a large scale multi-faceted "whole of community" exercise in raising public awareness of the benefits of harmony throughout the region

The project:

involved many different activities and sectors, including Indigenous and ethnic communities, local councils, students, police, religious bodies, business people, government departments and "Work for the Dole" participants
included among its many diverse elements:

cultural awareness training for service providers
establishing a "Harmony Park" (Corner of Rose and Warburton Streets, North Ward), with:

a partnership with the local Council, which provided the parkland
two local Indigenous groups, Wulgurukaba and Bindal tribes, performing a traditional blessing of the land at a large multicultural ceremony with all spheres of government represented

school students, participants in the MRC’s work experience program (funded through the Queensland Department of Employment, Training and Industrial Relations), and other community members coming together to make over 1,000 terra cotta tiles and inscribing them with "Harmony" messages
having the tiles professionally built into a "Harmony Monument" in the shape of a giant flowerpot in Harmony Park, and filling it with soils from many different countries donated from the gardens of their embassies in Canberra

held an initial launch/awareness program for some 500 people in positions of responsibility and influence (including Commonwealth and State parliamentarians and local government councillors as well as community representatives)
provided cross cultural training (with a specific section covering Indigenous perspectives and Reconciliation) through:

4 two-day sessions at the MRC, with approximately 100 people attending the sessions
2 sessions each for 60 recruits at the new Townsville Police Academy
three training sessions for 50 participants from James Cook University
session for 25 Centrelink staff
sessions for staff of the Good Shepherd Nursing Home and the Masonic Village Nursing Home
sessions for some 40 staff from the Department of Family Services and 20 from Cootharinga

arranged for a theatre group of young people of diverse backgrounds, "Teen Voice" to stage The Journey of Unity: from Dreams to Reality at a large community ceremony – a play with a strong message about cultural identity underlying a comic presentation
held public awareness ceremonies to mark:

The project:

had a generous response from Canberra embassies and Sydney consulates to requests for some soil for the Flowerpot from their gardens, with:

some 50 missions sending soil, and some also sending representatives to Townsville for the launch of the Flowerpot
international recognition for Harmony principles with many missions voicing their appreciation by letters

found organisations’ commitment to the cross-cultural training program very rewarding, and will continue the training sessions as part of the MRC program
found the cross-cultural sessions with the police (two role–plays, one on the use and misuse of interpreters, the other on misunderstanding new migrants) very well received, with followup requested
noted that the Townsville City Council’s contribution to Harmony Park included:

planting over 200 perennial plants and shrubs
providing extra turfing, paving and sprinklers
continuing maintenance for the parkland, so that people visit and read the Harmony messages

will be continuing with the "Teen Voice" youth theatre group
reached many others in the community via the many tradesmen, craftspeople and sponsors involved in the production of the finished tiles and construction of the flowerpot, now a landmark monument in the Townsville area showing its commitment to unity, diversity and racial harmony