Our World Central Australia
The Year 10 elective, Our World Central Australia, sees students exploring different cultures with a focus on the First Nations peoples of Australia.
They look at the lives of the many different First Nations people before European arrival, how cultures, languages and lifestyles were impacted after 1770 and how their cultures have adapted to life in this country over the past 250 years.
Depth and breadth of learning is delivered through an immersion experience around Uluru and the remote communities of Finke, Titjikala and Alcoota.
Students investigate spiritual beliefs, broad similarities and differences between First Nations views and western views are analysed.
Consideration is given to how plants and animals are used in different cultures. As a result, students look at the land in a different way, appreciate creation stories and laws of social behaviour. Different people’s world views and why conflicts occur are also explored.
“The Our World program aims to build kids’ cultural awareness, tolerance and understanding: educate them about Australian history that is too often brushed over and unpack some of the wounds that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders carry.”
“Students gain an understanding of First Nations cultures and celebrate them, to recognise the importance of land for Indigenous people, the impacts of colonisation and how, when their land is taken away, it directly affects them in many and complex ways,”
“You want students to experience a world beyond their own, build new connections and relationships and open their minds to differences that will hopefully build empathy and intercultural understanding. Providing experiences helps in their formation of their own opinions and ideas. You give them the opportunity to engage with it as much as they’re ready for, and that’s different for all kids.
“You’re really sowing seeds…what lasts in the kids’ minds is seeing friendships, forming relationships. It’s an opportunity to put their feet in others’ shoes and experience a world outside of what they know,”
Mr Cassidy Hurrell, CCG Director of Outdoor and Environmental Studies
Recent Comments