Hobsons Bay’s Behind this Smile anti-racism project has inspired one participant to take the message to children.
Liz Meyers last week brought Mem Fox’s book, Whoever you are, to read to children enrolled in the three-year-old program at Williamstown Community and Education Centre.
Ms Meyers said the book’s message was that “we’re all different but we’re all the same”.
“The three- and four-year-olds don’t have a problem with difference,” she said.
“I think acceptance is not just about acceptance of Australian culture, it’s about accepting all cultures.
“We need to be welcoming but we need to be educating ourselves and others, too. I am a teacher and I have spent nearly 30 years teaching multicultural students both in Australia and overseas,” she said.
“The most fantastic part of my life has been experiencing difference through the diverse cultural groups I have taught.
“I say thank god for differences; what a boring world it would be without difference.”
Meyers said the way we use words can either let someone into our world or shut them out.
“This is why I am so passionate about language and words because they can open the door and let the world in.”
Goya Dmytryshchak
