Students put spotlight on stereotypes
Friday, 15 February 2008
Students from two very different Sydney schools get together to challenge their views of each other in a film to be launched at Strathfield South High School tonight.
The Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services, Laurie Ferguson, will launch the DVD, which documents students from Strathfield South and Windsor High Schools as they visit each other’s schools and communities.
The students examine the role that various factors, including politicians and the media, play in shaping attitudes towards people of different backgrounds.
Mr Ferguson said the demography of the two areas differed markedly, with 51.5 per cent of the Strathfield region’s population having been born overseas, compared to just 14.2 per cent in Windsor.
‘It is very encouraging to see young people coming face to face with people from different backgrounds in a spirit of learning about each other, rather than resorting to stereotypes and ignorance,’ Mr Ferguson said.
‘I believe that it is through gaining first-hand knowledge of each other that we not only learn about our differences, but overwhelmingly, we discover how much we share in common as human beings and Australians.’
The DVD, as well as a set of related educational materials developed as a part of the project, will be distributed to secondary schools in NSW.
Mr Ferguson said the materials would offer other young people the opportunity to develop understanding and respect for their fellow Australians.
The film was produced as part of We Are All Australians, a project developed by Strathfield South High School that was funded under the Australian Government’s Living in Harmony program.
Media contact: Khaldoun Hajaj - 0404 078 692
URL: http://www.minister.immi.gov.au
/parlsec/media/media-releases/2008/lf08005.htm
Last update: 13 August 2008 at 17:14 AEST