Stories from near and far
By Alex Prado, CMY
MELBOURNE - Stories from Near and Far - is a community arts project that engaged young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds living in the City of Moonee Valley to explore and relate folktales, legends and cultural narratives from their countries of origin.
The Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) received funding from Arts Victoria and the School Focused Youth Services Melbourne / Moonee Valley to produce seven short stories written and told by young people. The project facilitated workshops with 30 young people, in partnership with AMES, St Aloysius College and Debney Park Secondary College.
CMY employed an artist in residence, a sound designer, musician, as well as a number of young artists to create illustrations for the traditional digital stories. As a result of this collaboration between artists and project participants this culturally rich DVD has been produced.
The Stories from Near and Far project has provided a forum for participants to showcase their storytelling talent to their communities and families as well as to the broader community.
It is an opportunity for communities to celebrate the richness of their cultural heritage through spoken word and to promote more understanding and appreciation of newly arrived communities and their cultures.
This innovative project enhances cross cultural understanding and promotes social cohesion in one of the most culturally diverse regions of Australia.
Cuoi, the Boy on the Moon
Cuoi, the Boy on the Moon - This is a traditional Vietnamese story told by Trung Tran and Nguyen Anh Tuan. Trung heard this story when he was a child at school. It is a very popular story in Vietnam known by most people there. It's the story of a boy who finds a magic tree with healing proprieties.
The Beautiful Woman and the Helpful Tiger
The Beautiful Woman and the Helpful Tiger - A traditional story from Burma told by Vanbawi Hetacia, Hsar Pweh Moo, Kaw Peng Sathing, Zar Dar Aye Runno, who are also from Burma. The beautiful woman's village is attacked by the army in Burma and the villagers had to escape into the jungle. The story is about the friendship that develops between a homan and a tiger in the junggleafter her escape.
The Cricket and the Ant
The Cricket and the Ant - A Folktale that has been told in many different countries and it is told by Liliane Mitung from Burundi and Isabelle Leung Wan Chinwhose parents are from Mauritius. It is about an ant the works very hard over summer to gather food for winter and a cricket that onlywants to have fun over summer and refuses to work.
The Legend of the Brothers
The Legend of the Brothers - A traditional story from Vietnam, told by Angela and Tifanny Nguyen who are sisters and whose parents are from Vietnam. The story is about the relationship between two brothers and the wife of one of the brothers. This story has influenced traditional Vietnamese marriage ceremonies.
The Three Brothers
The Three Brothers - A traditional story from Somalia told by Fatuma Osman. Fatuma's mother told this story to her when she was a child. It's the story of a sick father and his three sons who are competing for the inheritance of the father's land.
Three Best Friends
Three Best Friends - A tradititional story from Burma, told by San Ni, Ngun Nawn, Sandi Soe, Naomi Naomi and Thang Thang Boyhyng, who are also from Burma. This is the story of three good friends the bird, elephant and the monkey. They are trying to find out who is the older and the youngest among them, and go and seek help from the wise owl in the forest.
You Help Me and I Help You
You Help Me and I Help You - A traditional story from Siri Lanka, told be Eshara Palapathwala; her mother used to tell her this story when she was a little child. This is the story about a friendship that developed between an ant and a bird and how they saved each others lives.