By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
No one said world harmony came easily.
After two years of design and construction – including crushing and placing mosaic tiles of all colours at lunchtimes – Gleneagles Secondary College’s multicultural friendship chair has been opened for sitting.
The wondrous design, which has become a popular lunchtime hangout – represents about 65 different cultures at the college.
It includes patterns from Aboriginal cultures and from India, New Zealand, Oceania, South America, Africa, Middle East, Pacific Islands, Indonesia, China, Turkey and Greece.
On 3 May, Victorian Multicultural Commissioner Sam Almaliki cut the ribbon to officially open the chair.
Despite hostile weather, a Welcome to Country smoke ceremony and cultural dances by students Sabrina and Resalene Lavaka bookended the ceremony.
The idea sprung three years ago from the college’s students who wanted to create an interactive artwork that represented the “voice of the students”.
Students, teachers, parents and the college’s artist-in-residence Lesley Donnellon worked long hours to create the mosaics.
Teacher Ariella Sweet said the chair was a point of pride in a “diverse and multicultural” school.
“This project has taught us a lot about communication, the need for respect and understanding, and the importance of celebrating rather than hiding one’s cultural identity, customs, language, belief, religion, style of dress, food and ancestry.
“We are so very grateful for the friendships that were formed whilst creating this project and the friendships that will continue to form whilst using it.”
The chair had become a focal meeting place and a way for the school to understand its array of cultures and to prevent bullying, she said.
The project’s sponsors National Tiles, Bunnings Fountain Gate, Masters and Tuff Turf were also recognised in the ceremony.
