Who Is An Australian?
Due Date; Friday, November 20, 2009
Australia is a melting pot of races, cultures and beliefs with people from almost 200 countries making Australia their home. Our country was built by people from many different national backgrounds, and has followed an active policy of multiculturalism since 1972. Multiculturalism is the acceptance of multiple ethnic cultures and is a term which recognises and celebrates the cultural diversity of Australia’s population.
Cultural and linguistic diversity has always been a feature of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies. In the past 200 years this diversity has been increased with the settlement of over six million migrants from other countries. This diversity has had a striking influence on all aspects of our society.
Multiculturalism includes respecting and valuing the right of all Australians to express and share their individual cultural heritage within a harmonious society.
Discrimination involves making choices about how we treat other people or respond to a situation. These choices can be made using real and relevant information or they can be based on prejudice, stereotypes and bias.
In Australia we live in a democracy where all people have certain basic rights. We all have the right to vote, speak freely, follow our chosen religion and obtain an education.
Task 1
You will be working in groups of 4 or 5 students per group and all sections below must be covered within the group. As this is a multimedia presentation, you must include at least two of the following; including a video camera, digital camera, PowerPoint, or any other program (movie maker etc).
The Australian lifestyle has been enhanced by the influence of migrants and/or refugees from some of the countries listed below. Choose one of the countries below and discuss aspects of your chosen country such as: geographical location, capital city, population, currency, flag, food, festivals, major religions, etc. There will be a maximum time frame of 20 minutes for each group’s presentation.
| Countries within the African Continent | Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders, |
| Countries from the Asian region e.g Afghanistan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Thailand, The Philippines, Indonesia, | Countries from the Pacific Islands e.g. Fiji, Samoa, Cook Islands, |
| Countries from Europe eg. Italy, Germany, France, Greece, Bosnia, Yugoslavia, Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Poland, Czechoslovakia,
| Countries from the British Isles e.g. England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, |
| Our southern most neighbour: New Zealand | If you wish to choose a country other than those listed, you will have to discuss this with the teacher. |
For your ‘Multimedia Presentation’, you have to include all of the following:
1. Introduction to your country- geographical location, capital city, population, currency, flag, food, festivals, major religions etc.
2. News Bulletin- Real life issue related to your selected country on immigration issues, racism, refugee events, conflicts
3. Community Announcement- ‘Racism No Way!’. E.g. multiculturalism. News excerpts etc.
4. Advertisement- Develop and present an advertisment to promote your chosen country.
5. A Festival- Select one significant festival from the country of your choice (e.g. Australia- Australia Day, Easter, Christmas.
6. Review- Review of book, film, documentary, website, video game on your chosen country.
7. Interview- a person from your chosen cultural background (can be through role play)
8. Audience participation- factual presentation involving audience participation (celebrity heads, who wants to be a millionaire, etc)
9. Own choice (music, cooking, dance, etc)
