How can parents better understand and support their children's day to day experience of growing up in two cultures?
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This is the theme of a new project led by the Ballarat Malayalee Association which reflects on what it means to parent in a multicultural setting and helps community members build their parenting capacity.
Association member Deepa Kuriachan with the help of other volunteers organised an event on Saturday at St Patrick's Hall.
The core of this project is about our children's sense of identity and how we can be an active participant in shaping their sense of identity.
- Deepa Kuriachan, Project ABCD
About 25 families from Sri Lanka, India, the Philippines and other countries heard from a panel of subject experts.
"What does it mean for our children growing up in two different cultures, one at home and one in their wider community or social setting?," Ms Kuriachan said.
"The core of this project is about our children's sense of identity and how we can be an active participant in shaping their sense of identity.
"It is an acknowledgement this is going to be an ongoing lifelong learning journey for us as parents."
A panel of experts discussed topics including technology, social media, parenting and communicating with children at Saturday's Project ABCD event, standing for Australian-based culturally diverse parents.
Families also watched a short film based on the story of a child from a culturally diverse background growing up in Australia.
"Technology and social media is a big challenge I face as a parent, managing that and getting a sense of moderation in a day to day setting with my children," Ms Kuriachan said.
"Mental health is a topic that often has a lot of stigma from a cultural perspective.
"The encouragement we had from the subject expert was to have more conversations about mental health, to normalise conversations about emotions in daily interactions with our children and to role model that."
Mr Kuriachan said parents wanted to have a deeper understanding about some of the challenges their children experienced when they took their culture into the broader community setting.
"Are they experiencing a sense of shame, uncertainty, ambivalence? Some of the experiences we hear about bullying in schools are based on their colour, their parent's accent, their choice of food and dressing.
"If there are different perspectives and our children are experiencing that, how can our parents coach them and mentor them in a positive way to navigate those scenarios?"
City of Ballarat and Ballarat Regional Multicultural Council have partnered with the Ballarat Malayalee Association on Project ABCD.
Ms Kuriachan said the volunteer team would work on ideas for develop diverse ways to continue communication on this topic in the community.
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Rochelle Kirkham
Rochelle covers court and has a particular interest in social issues including homelessness, food security and family violence.
Rochelle covers court and has a particular interest in social issues including homelessness, food security and family violence.
