Forty-five students from The Grange P-12 College, Wyndham Community and Education Centre and St. Monica’s College took part in a special Social Cohesion project to help them learn, grow and belong in their communities. The project has been supported by the Department of Premier and Cabinet, Wyndham City Council, Whittlesea City Council, and the Centre for Multicultural Youth and LOTE marketing.

Over the past six months, students have worked collaboratively on the campaigns, looking at issues of discrimination, social justice and mental wellbeing and building on their leadership and communication skills.

The Huddle’s, Business Development Manager, Adham Diab, explained, “This project has been a fantastic opportunity for the students to address important social issues and to make a difference to their communities. It has also given them confidence, expanded their networks and created examples of work they can use in future employment opportunities.”

“The students were supported by industry mentors and experts in community development to create powerful campaigns that can be shared across social media. In total, four 30 second animations were produced to spread the message,” Diab said.

Campaign: Homelessness Begins At Home

Homelessness Begins at Home tackles the issue of hate speech from a family breakdown perspective. If young people are not feeling connected to their families, are pushed out of close community connections through anger and hate from those they are closest to ramifications can be detrimental. By encouraging communication and understanding at home the chances of not being persuaded by negative influences are reduced.

Campaign: Australian And Proud

Australian and Proud has been designed to increase people’s understanding of inclusion and acceptance. By looking into Australia’s history, we see that race hate has been and continues to be a topic that needs to be addressed as people from all nations make Australia a country of choice.

Campaign: Nobody's Different - It Doesn't Matter Who Scores

Nobody’s Different – It Doesn’t Matter Who Scores takes on the view that we are all essentially the same regardless of our abilities and backgrounds. It is a simple presentation aimed at young children that also resonates with anyone who has felt excluded. It uses sport and the classic scenario of being picked last in a line up. By not singling out a cohort or minority group the person in blue represents anyone who has been left out and the feelings that come with this experience. These feelings as a young person can build and manifest themselves in many ways if not addressed.

Campaign: Filter Your Words

Filter Your Words demonstrates the build-up of anxieties in young people and how it may feel to be in this person’s life. The anxiety metre clearly illustrates how isolated an individual can become.

The four campaigns will run across social media networks and the animations will be screened at Village Cinemas at Pacific Werribee, and on screens at community centres across Wyndham.