International Day of Elimination of Racial Discrimination
International Day of Elimination of Racial Discrimination
EMC does not tolerate racism or discrimination. Having proactive, open discussions about racism helps to address racism when it occurs and prevent it in the future. This is why during home group this week, students learned about the International Day of Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the cultural diversity at EMC, the impacts of racism and were invited to participate in focus groups to hear from students about actions the College can take moving forwards.
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March, the day when 69 people in Sharpeville, South Africa, were killed by police at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid "pass laws" in 1960.
At EMC, there are lots of students and staff from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds. EMC celebrates and values cultural diversity and want the College community to feel connected, protected and respected within their community. Last year, EMC partnered with One Love Australia to run workshops with all students and staff at EMC. One Love also went into Langwarrin Primary School, Langwarrin Park Primary School, and Woodlands Primary School.
During this time, students, staff and families from EMC were invited to share their cultural backgrounds. The dark blue on this map represents the countries that students and staff, and their parents and/or grandparents were born in and/or are connected to. There are over 32 languages spoken by families at EMC.
To help us to learn the different cultures represented at EMC, we created a short questionnaire to help us map the cultural diversity at our College. This information was requested so we can learn and understand the cultures of our school, so we can support sustaining culture, address concerns, and recognise and celebrate any special days or events related to cultural identities of people within the EMC community. This questionnaire is still open for people to provide feedback.
The link is here: https://forms.gle/sBnEaadmFfkfEsJ27
There is a passionate team at EMC looking to lead and support a whole school approach to address and prevent racism for 2024 and beyond. We would love to hear your feedback and listen to the lived experiences of culturally diverse students and allies who may have been impacted the most in this area.
To do this, this term we are aiming to organise an opt in student focus group to gather feedback and evidence to plan our next steps.
These culturally safe focus groups will also provide students the opportunity to remain involved to help deliver actions for the college now and into the future!
If you want to be part of the conversation, complete the short survey below: