INDIGENOUS AND REFUGEE YOUTH ANTI-RACISM EDUCATION PROJECT

Background
This project was a peer based anti-racism community education project. Anglo-saxon, Indigenous and refugee young people from several schools

Drama frieze by Thornbury High students on camp

across Victoria came together on a 3-day camp in mid-2005 to learn from each other and develop skits to educate their peers against racism. The project aimed to support young people to deal with discrimination in a constructive manner.

The project built on a 2004 project between Eaglehawk Secondary College (near Bendigo) and WYPIN – the Western Young Peoples Independent Network based in Footscray. The 2004 project brought together refugee and mainly Anglo young people. ANTaR formed a partnership with WYPIN to extend the project to specifically include Indigenous young people. WYPIN also partnered Cutting Edge Youth Services in Shepparton to extend the project regionally.

The project was filmed in order to create a DVD as an educational resource, with accompanying teachers notes, to ensure longevity of the project intention and its educational component. Click here for for info on the film/DVD.

Project partners
ANTaR Victoria’s project partners included: WYPIN (Western Young People's Independent Network); Dulin Inc (Indigenous Young Peoples Mentoring Service); Working Together for Indigenous Youth; Cutting Edge Youth Services (Shepparton); Bunjilaka (at Melbourne Museum); and the Immigration Museum.

Involvement of schools
Students from the following schools and youth services participated in the camp: Eaglehawk Secondary College, Bendigo; Maribyrnong Secondary College; Cutting Edge Youth Services, Santa Maria College; Northcote Secondary College; Reservoir District Secondary College; Thornbury High School

Funders
ANTaR received a Living in Harmony grant from DIMA (Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) for this project. This grant required a full project report and audit.

1. Project successfully launched on Friday 18th March 2005 at the Immigration Museum – attended by Eaglehawk Secondary College students and Maribyrnong College students
2. 3-day anti-racism camp 27th – 29th June 2005 attended by 45 young people from Anglo-Australian, Indigenous, refugee and CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) backgrounds.
3. Staffing on camp included Anglo, Indigenous, and CALD and/or refugee background workers.
4. Anti-racism education performance at Thornbury High School by students from Thornbury High and Santa Maria College
5. Exchange between WYPIN and Eaglehawk in Bendigo – performance, discussion and sharing of footage from camp
6. Filming undertaken at activities 1-3, and follow up interviews with young people, workers and an anti-racism trainer.
7. Footage edited and developed into anti-racism resource
   Teachers notes developed
8. DVD and teachers notes distributed as educational package.
9. Package also promoted to teachers and relevant part of film industry using a marketing plan developed by ANTaR.

Project launch, Immigration museum. WYPIN rappers and MC on stage	Eaglehawk High student on excursion to Bunjilaka, Melbourne Museum on launch day	Richard Frankland with students Jamal, Tama, Ali and George on camp

Outcomes and evaluation
Outcomes are related in detail in the project report submitted to the major funder. This report is also available through the ANTaR Victoria office.

Evaluative material was collected at the launch via questionnaire, and at the camp via a camp comment book, evaluation focus groups (drawing and speaking), video interviews, and worker observation/reflection journals.

Analysis of the evaluation focus group activity by Borderlands’ interim evaluation report:

“It is clear that the experience of the camp was very positive but hugely challenging and quite exhausting for all, youth and staff alike. It is quite an achievement, we believe, that the staff, most of whom were unknown to the young people, were so successful in maintaining the cooperation of the young people [NB: each student knew at least one teacher or support worker prior to the camp]. Some of the young people felt that they were overly-managed and clearly expected to have more ‘free time’ at a camp in holiday time rather than doing ‘drama all day’. The drama bored some but clearly inspired others. Students from one of the schools felt that their accompanying teachers (the only school from which teachers attended) were overly-vigilant and intrusive.”

Two typical responses to the evaluation focus group activity were:

“I came on this camp ‘cause I thought it’d be fund and good experience. During the camp I had fun at times but some things or activities we did I didn’t enjoy as much as the rest. After the camp I decided it was worth coming and I had some fun.”

“The camp was fun at times. I met new people and I liked the drama… I’d lernt some stuff about discrimination and how bad it is.”

And a response ANTaR is excited by – a Koori young person wrote:

“Not only kooris are interested in the camp but other different cultures are to”

The responses in camp comment book were summarised by ANTaR Victoria as:

“Lots of positive feedback about the food, about Richard Frankland [guest speaker/workshop] and Titiana [drama facilitator] and almost everyone mentioned having met new friends. Otherwise, mostly comments about there not being enough free time and about being supervised too closely.”

ANTaR’s Clare Land with the ‘comments book’ on camp