News

Council’s Good Relations team works with primary schools to explore cultural diversity.

Thu, December 14, 2023

Council’s Good Relations team has completed a series of workshops for local primary schools called, ‘Exploring Cultural Diversity’.

The informative workshops were held throughout the autumn months, with the goal of helping local children understand different cultures, while also hearing stories from people originally from countries outside of the UK and Ireland.

Each participating school benefited from four sessions focussed on a different country and culture. This year pupils learnt about Poland, France, Japan & China, with sessions being facilitated by people from these places who have chosen to make our Borough their home.

Speaking about the initiative, Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens, Councillor Stephen Callaghan said, “I very much commend our Good Relations team for this fantastic and interesting project, the aim of which is to provide children with the chance to meet people from other countries, find out about other cultures and ask questions in a safe environment.

“There is always a need to educate and raise awareness on diversity and difference, so that we can all help create a community that is welcoming and accepting of others - when better to start this education than at primary school age.

“This project provides an opportunity to raise awareness of the cultures and traditions that add to the richness and diversity of our Borough and indeed Northern Ireland as a whole, and I would like to extend my thanks to the schools who kindly hosted these workshops.”

During the interactive sessions pupils were encouraged to ask questions, learn songs, participate in dancing & crafts from other cultures, and pick up some new language skills along the way.

The workshops not only provided an opportunity to raise awareness of other cultures and traditions that the children can see around them in their evolving communities, but they also supported schools with delivery of the curriculum for Personal Development and Mutual Understanding and World Around Us.

Good Relations Officer Joy Wisener added: “This year we were able to deliver 40 workshops to around 250 children in local schools and the response has been so positive, we hope to continue with this initiative going forward.

“We live in a changing environment and it’s important to provide our young people with positive expressions of culture to counteract some of the more negative things they will hear.

“Our Good Relations team has a strapline which was inspired by some of our local pupils a few years ago: ‘Peace in our community starts with you’ *and we think it is an important message for all of us, not just the children.”

For further information on this project or others, contact the Good Relations team on goodrelations@causewaycoastandglens.gov.uk

This project has received financial support from The Executive Office as part of the District Councils Good Relations Programme, and supports the T:BUC strategy (Together: Building a United Community)

Children who participated in the ‘Exploring Cultural Diversity’ workshops said:

“I enjoyed the languages.”

“I liked the way I learned to write in Chinese.”

“I liked learning the can-can dance, it was fantastic!”

“I enjoyed learning about the different places.”

“I loved the Chinese tea, it was good!”

Teachers who participated in the ‘Exploring Cultural Diversity’ workshops said:

“An excellent project that the children really enjoyed & gained a great deal from, due to its interactive nature."

“Each session had a fantastic balance of active participation for the pupils & teaching. The speakers were engaging, and the children were focused throughout each session. There was a good use of visual aids to enhance the learning experience for the pupils.”

“Thank you very much for organizing and facilitating -our children really enjoyed this programme and got a lot from it.  We aim to be an inclusive school and the sessions all linked in very well to the overall ethos of our school.”

“The children and I thoroughly enjoyed this programme. It was delivered in a very professional manner; the activities were fun yet informative. There was a good balance of educational material and practical activities…Thank you.”