CCA member Macquarie Community College has celebrated Harmony Day. College CEO Theresa Collignon reports below (read her full report here):
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With the worries and concerns of the past weeks in our communities about the COVID-19 virus this year for Harmony Day, Macquarie Community College is taking the chance to deepen our personal bonds and intercultural understanding across our very diverse College.
At Macquarie Community College we value, celebrate and encourage the diversity of our College and our communities. The tapestry of life and work at our College is made of many threads – threads of different hues, from different places and with varied strengths. These threads are woven together from the warp and weft of learning new skills together, acquiring knowledge and making friendships here.
Keeping the thread of the social fabric strong
The social fabric of the local communities we serve in northwest and western Sydney has been tested in the past weeks. Many of our students have migrated to Australia and are worried for their family and friends living in countries with significant outbreaks. Our staff and students have been worried about their children not being able to attend school, and they want to protect elderly family members from risk of exposure to the virus. Even worse, some of our students have personally experienced the consequences of unthinking expressions of fear and suspicion simply because of assumptions about them and their cultural backgrounds.
Keeping our communities strong
Harmony Day 2020 is a great time to celebrate the richness of working and living in our diverse multicultural communities of learners. This is why Harmony Day is one of my favourite days of the year at Macquarie Community College and we always celebrate it. Thus year in particular though I am sure we will take heart from taking the time to live our values around diversity and respect.
