A day of understanding
On Monday 18 February 2008 the Melbourne Interfaith Intercultural Cluster hosted the Day of Understanding at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre.
About 800 students and staff from across Victoria participated in the day devoted to celebrating cultural diversity and community engagement.
The Melbourne Interfaith and Intercultural Cluster
The Melbourne Interfaith and Intercultural Cluster was developed from the Values Education Good Practice Schools Project – Stage 2 as part of the Australian Government's Values Education program to foster and support improved values education practice in schools.
The Cluster is comprised of two Catholic, one Government, one Jewish independent and one Islamic independent school. They are:
- St Monica's College, Epping
- Siena College, Camberwell
- Thornbury High School, Thornbury
- The King David School, Armadale
- Australian International Academy, Coburg.
The Day of Understanding was the culmination of an 18-month collaboration between the five schools in which students interacted at six interschool gatherings.
Some of the students formed a Student Executive to provide specific feedback to the coordinating teachers. Two of these students, both 16, were Gemma Pavone from Siena College and Brad Szmerling from The King David School.
Gemma said, "This program has allowed me to not only better understand different religions, cultures and ways of life, but to make some wonderful friendships which I hope will continue on well after we are no longer participants in this opportunity."
Brad agrees. "This values education project has opened my eyes, that although we live in different cultures, we're not that different. We all watch TV, we all hate doing homework and we all really get along."
Socratic Circles: Many Cultures; One Community
Throughout the project student representatives of different faiths and cultural backgrounds used the Socratic Circle discussion methodology to frame conversation about issues related to national identity, community engagement and social cohesion.
According to Gemma, "These discussions were in a comfortable environment where students could ask questions and voice their opinions without feeling intimidated or judged. It was during these times that I learnt the greatest lesson. There may be differences between us, but there are so many more similarities. Whether we attend a church service on a Sunday or a synagogue on a Saturday, we are all human, we are all teenagers and we are all part of the future of Australia."
Creative expression was encouraged. Students could choose to express their understanding of the issues discussed through art, music, drama and poetry. In December 2007 their artwork, inspired by the cluster collaboration, was exhibited in a Fitzroy gallery. Some of this artwork was displayed at the Day of Understanding.
Day of Understanding
A panel of representatives including Mikael Simpson Smith, Manar Chelebi, Michelle Reid, Arnold Zable and Tom O'Connor, all from different faith and cultural backgrounds, spoke about diversity in Australia and addressed the question, "What does it mean to be an Australian and what makes a good Australian citizen?"
Brad thinks the most important attribute of a good citizen is respect. "A good citizen is someone who respects people, he respects the environment, he respects opinions that differ to his and he respects the law."
Students also performed a drama entitled 'Story of Journey' and conducted a demonstration of a Socratic Circle discussion in action before heading towards the Atrium for lunch. During lunch, everyone was treated to a performance by Valanga Khoza, an African musician, singer and storyteller.
After lunch students participated in a stencil art activity which involved sketching or writing a response that symbolised understanding of the issues discussed and presented in the morning sessions. Their creative responses will later be made into a series of e-books available to participating schools.
Cluster students and staff then facilitated sessions for visiting schools to look at ways to incorporate values education in their own schools and communities.
Embracing multiculturalism
Gemma believes this program has so many strengths. "Nearly a year and a half ago I was a very different person with a much narrower view of the world. Although I lived in multicultural Melbourne, unbeknown to me, I lived a very sheltered life... This program has helped me to break down stereotypes I didn't know existed, opened my eyes when I thought they were already open and build friendships I never realised were possible."
"In this age of a true global society, it is becoming more important for all of us, no matter who we are, to embrace a multicultural society... If we, as members of the most multicultural nation in the world, cannot live together in harmony and peace, what chance does the rest of the world have? We, Australia, must lead the way in embracing multiculturalism, in all its forms."
More articles about the Day of Understanding:
- Youth challenge stereotypes - Roving reporter Jenelle spoke with year 10 students who attended the Day of Understanding.
Articles Written by Thuong
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