March 25, 2015

Pillars of community welcome international students on Harmony Day

Local emergency service crews were on campus to welcome international students to the community on Wednesday 25 March.

By familiarising international students with local emergency services in a friendly, fun and informal way, UOW Wellbeing Coordinator Cameron Faricy hopes to overcome cultural differences.

“The place and role of authority figures differ greatly across cultural borders,” Mr Faricy said.

“By bringing the police, fire fighters, ambulance officers and others who are the pillars of our community onto campus, international students will get to know our local emergency services, what their role is, and will feel truly welcomed to the community. We want international students to know that people in uniform are here to offer a helping hand,” he said.

The event, which will also be a celebration for Harmony Day, will include fire trucks, police cars, and a faux beach complete with red and yellow flags and a BBQ.

Fire and Rescue NSW, The Rural Fire Service (RFS), NSW Police, NSW Ambulance, Surf Life Saving Australia, State Emergency Service and UOW Security, were all represented at the event.

Harmony Day is an Australian government initiative to celebrate our culturally diverse nation. This is the first year that UOW has marked the day with on campus activities.

The event follows on from Welcome to Wollongong, presented by the Illawarra Committee of International Students, held earlier in March for all those who are new to the area and have decided to call the city of Wollongong home.