Our Stories - Refugees Building a New Life in Australia

In this unit, students will be guided through a series of scenarios based on the real experiences of a range of refugees living in Australia. These lessons lead students in a process of brainstorming tangible and practical positive actions they could take to support refugees or people seeking asylum to overcome the challenges they face.

These lessons have been created in partnership with Stand Up: Jewish Commitment to a Better World to be used alongside their Our Stories project. The Our Stories project explores the stories of four refugees who each arrived in Australia at a different time and from different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds. Through the website users are encouraged to step into the shoes of a refugee as they start a new life in Australia. The users learn about the experience of that refugee and are asked to face a series of difficult scenarios encountered by that refugee.

Each of the refugee stories explores important themes, including community, friendship, passion, identity and why it can be difficult to ask for a helping hand. Our Stories explores our common humanity and highlights both the common and unique challenges faced by our newest Australians.

We hope these lessons will inspire young Australians to consider their attitudes towards refugees and take positive action to foster respect among their peers and create a more inclusive and tolerant multicultural society."