Western Australia

Communicare Inc.

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Multicultural Education Project For Communicare's Children's Services

$46,000 Awarded

| Aims | Activities | Outcomes |

Aims

This project, now completed, aimed to:

  • encourage understanding, respect and acceptance of the cultural diversity of all Australians

  • focus on a low socio-economic area with a large population of first generation migrants and refugees with resulting cultural misunderstandings and mutual suspicion

  • model respectful cross cultural relationships in children through a creative educational program of interaction between children and "Cultural Ambassadors" from local ethnic communities to run the cultural sessions

  • establish positive cross-cultural attitudes in children involved with the service through early formation of cultural knowledge and understanding

  • extend the benefits to the wider community through the example of the original participants

Activities

The project:

  • targeted some 700 child clients of the service, from preschool to late primary school in Family Day Care Services, Occasional Care Services, Vacation Care and/or Outside School Hours Care

  • designed and implemented an educational project to encourage understanding, respect and acceptance of cultural diversity, including:

    • identifying "Cultural Ambassadors" from local ethnic/Indigenous communities who discussed their individual beliefs, practices and knowledge with the children

    • research to identify various cultures' customs, traditions

  • concentrated on various activities to:

    • increase children's knowledge of diverse cultures

    • help children to recognise their own values and those of others

  • provided an opportunity for children to express diverse cultural beliefs and practices through art, creative writing, dramatic performances, food/cooking and music

  • held:

    • a very multicultural Turning on the Lights "spectacular" with Indian Depavli lights, Chinese and Vietnamese lanterns in addition to Christmas lights, and an Aboriginal elder related stories of the Dreamtime to children

    • a showcase for all the activities, with the cultural ambassadors, for the public and VIPs on Harmony Day

  • produced a booklet on the specific cultural programs, including:

    • Indian:

      • Hindi script writing

      • Henna (Mehndi) painting (as used in religious celebrations)

      • Cooking

      • making Indian flag (includes colours representing purity, peace and piety)

      • Diwali lamps (for the Festival of Lights and the Goddess Laksmi)

    • African:

      • mask making (important symbols in almost every African culture, to drive away evil spirits that disrupt orderly life)

      • music appreciation

      • paper weaving

      • African beads

      • wire cars

      • drum making

    • Chinese:

      • lanterns (for Moon Festivals and New Year)

      • Chinese Opera face-painting with highly symbolic colours

        • red - loyalty

        • white - treachery

        • yellow - impulsiveness

        • black - honest and good

        • silver and gold - gods and demons

      • paper dragons/dragon boat (scaring away evil spirits)

      • lion dance/making a lion

      • chopsticks game

    • Aboriginal:

      • Dreamtime stories

      • face painting with ochre, including talks on who wears paint and /why, in traditional ceremonies

      • tapping sticks

      • going on walkabout in the area, discussing the meanings of tracks and medicinal plants, and how to hunt for food

      • the Aboriginal flag - meanings of its colours:

        • black - Aboriginal people past present and future

        • yellow - Sun, giver of life

        • red - red earth, Aboriginal spiritual relationship to the land

      • cooking yams

    • Latin American:

      • making piñatas

      • story telling

      • rain makers

      • cooking pupusas

    • Middle Eastern:

      • belly dancing

      • evil eye pendant (to keep away bad spirits)

      • cooking kebabs

Outcomes

The project:

  • found that the children:

    • enjoyed involvement in the various cultural activities

    • understood the symbolism of many of the items, colours, festivals etc

    • enjoyed hearing other people (eg the cultural ambassadors) speaking unfamiliar language when there was somebody to translate/illustrate it for them

    • particularly enjoyed the new foods

  • found the children's enjoyment of games from different countries a very powerful vehicle for highlighting the similarities between children all over the world

  • held discussions with the children about the symbolism/meaning behind crafts and games and felt that at least some of these concepts stayed with them

  • received very positive feedback from a survey of parents involved, particularly in terms of the detailed descriptions of cultural activities which the children brought home

  • as an ongoing commitment, beyond the original plan, built a "Harmony Village" in their playground, including an Indonesian longhouse, a Chinese pagoda and an African mud brick hut (all child scale)

  • found that many of the child care staff of diverse backgrounds:

    • experienced an awakening of their own traditions, and had cultural pride renewed

    • resolved to take up their own cultural celebrations again

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