On Wednesday 29 March, 215 North Melbourne Primary School students from years 5 and 6 joined Trinity College’s student-led Global Pathways event on the Bulpadock.
In total, 10 countries and communities took part in this multicultural celebration. The participants were; Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Karen Community, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
From 11am-2pm, North Melbourne Primary students were invited to grab a global passport and participate in activities at each country and community stall. Once they successfully completed each activity they would then get their passport stamped. Students who were able to collect stamps from the ten different stalls were given a prize.
The event was a chance for Trinity students from the Pathways School, Residential College and the Theological School to represent their cultures by wearing traditional costumes, preparing local foods and organising games from their homelands.
Marbles (kelereng) from Indonesia and a handballing footy activity from Australia were just two of the many games that took place on the day.
Another highlight was a flash mob by students from BOBA Dance Crew. The group practices dancing in various styles (urban, hiphop, contemporary, street jazz, salsa, bollywood) every Tuesday in the Gateway building.
Students were also encouraged to get involved with the event via social media with the hashtags #GlobalPathway and #Communityanddiversity trending across various social media platforms.
Associate Dean for Student Services, Alison Hemsley came up with the concept after previously helping to organise the highly successful Global Highway event at the University of Wollongong.
‘Global Pathway was a huge success in providing an opportunity for students, staff and community members to explore and celebrate the wonder and diversity of our multi-cultural community,’ says Alison.
Alison, whose son was one of the 215 students, said North Melbourne Primary School students continued to celebrate Global Pathway the next day with over 30 students arriving with their Global Pathway T-shirts and one year-5 student declaring it was ‘the best school day ever!’
