Culture and Co’s Harmony Champs program has proved to be a roaring success after taking out the top prize for the School Education section at the Victorian Multicultural Awards for Excellence.
A Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project initiative, Harmony Champs is an anti-racism program designed to facilitate discussions between school students about identity and culture with a focus on migrant, refugee and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lived experience.
The program was rolled out to Year 5 and 6 students in Greater Shepparton by facilitators and co-founders of Harmony Champs, Lisa Lynch-Johnston, a proud Yorta Yorta woman, and Sarmed Yassin, who immigrated to Australia with his family from Iraq in 2003.
The Multicultural Awards for Excellence is about recognising people and organisations who have encouraged cross-cultural understanding and supported those with migrant, refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds to participate in different aspects of life in Victoria.
On Tuesday, October 25, the Multicultural Awards for Excellence recognised Harmony Champs for its efforts in fostering cultural understanding and leadership in children at a ceremony at Government House in Melbourne.
Mr Yassin was proud of the award win by Harmony Champs, knowing the program had made a difference in kids’ lives.
“We knew the program was very successful. As we were delivering it, the response from the children was very positive,” Mr Yassin said.
“It’s about us getting them interested in taking that conversation further and we saw that the kids who attended the program loved the idea of learning about other cultures, how to be understanding of someone from a different background and how to deal with racism.
“We’re hoping with this award and recognition, we’re able to highlight the importance of doing these programs and get support from the government and other organisations to continue delivering them to schools so we can continue that conversation.”
Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project executive officer Amy Robinson said it was an incredible effort from Culture and Co, and emphasised the need for programs such as Harmony Champs.
“Our region’s diverse cultural background is one of our great assets, but lack of knowledge and understanding can create challenges,” Ms Robinson said.
“The aim of this program is to tackle this issue so our young people can better navigate relationships with those they encounter at school and throughout their life.
“We congratulate Lisa and Sarmed for their dedication and for delivering an award-winning program. We also acknowledge the wonderful work of Culture and Co in bringing this program to life.”