Equal Time Special Edition 2009
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Equal Time
Newsletter of the Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW
Number 76 Special Issue - Creative Arts Competition 2009
Please note that this text version of Equal Time does not include images of competition entries
displayed in the PDF version. Images of entries are available on the Anti-Discrimination Board
website.
Contents
From the President ........................................................................................................................ 3
Creative Arts and Writing Competition 2009 ............................................................................... 4
Winners and Runners up............................................................................................................... 5
Age 5–8 ........................................................................................................................................... 5
Age 9–12.......................................................................................................................................... 5
Age 13–15........................................................................................................................................ 6
Winner — Age 13–15 ..................................................................................................................... 7
Tiana Podinic (aged 14) from Bossley Park High School – Poster .................................................. 7
Joint Winner — Age 9–12 .............................................................................................................. 8
Luke West (aged 11) from Orange Grove Public School, Leichhardt — Rap Song ......................... 8
Joint Winner — Age 9–12 ............................................................................................................ 10
Kajol Priyanka (aged 11) from Wiley Park Public School — Written work ..................................... 10
Winner — Age 5–8 ....................................................................................................................... 11
Georgia Natoli (aged 8) St Aloysius Primary School, Cronulla — Written work ............................. 11
Runner Up — Age 13–15 ............................................................................................................. 12
Saba Vayani (aged 15) from Glenwood High School — Written work ........................................... 12
Runner Up — Age 13–15 ............................................................................................................. 13
Prakash Dubey (aged 14) from Epping Boys High — Written work ............................................... 13
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Runner Up — Age 13–15 ............................................................................................................. 14
Abby-Gai Robertson (aged 15) from Connections, Ettalong — Written work ................................. 14
Runner Up — Age 9–12 ............................................................................................................... 15
Aaron Clarke (aged 10) from Bourke/Walgett School of Distance Education, Brewarrina — Written
work ............................................................................................................................................... 15
Runner Up — Age 9–12 ............................................................................................................... 16
Rebekah Smart (aged 10) from Belair Public School, Adamstown — PowerPoint ........................ 16
Runner Up — Age 9–12 ............................................................................................................... 16
Adrian Tasselli (aged 9) from Banksmeadow Public School — PowerPoint .................................. 16
Runner Up — Age 9–12 ............................................................................................................... 16
Meredith Colagiuri (aged 9) from Kurrajong East Public School — Drawing/Flip-chart.................. 16
Runner Up — Age 9–12 ............................................................................................................... 17
Flaviah Edelkoort-Bonacci (aged 11) from Banksmeadow Public School — Poster ...................... 17
Runner Up — Age 9–12 ............................................................................................................... 17
Harry Reynolds (aged 9) from Kurrajong East Public School — Poster......................................... 17
Runner Up — Age 5–8 ................................................................................................................. 17
Sophia Kenny (aged 8) from Forestville Public School — Cartoon ................................................ 17
Runner Up — Age 5–8 ................................................................................................................. 18
Mia Campbell (aged 6) from Annandale North Public School — Drawing and story ...................... 18
Runner Up — Age 5–8 ................................................................................................................. 18
Annabel Dedener (aged 8) from Central Mangrove Public School — Poster................................. 18
The Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW...................................................................................... 19
Equal Time Special Edition 2009
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From the President
I would like to congratulate everybody who participated in this year’s competition. We received
over 300 entries. There were poems, narratives, dialogues, rap songs, and PowerPoint
presentations as well as posters and videos that enhanced their messages.
The judges were very impressed by the quality of the entries and selecting the winners was a very
difficult job. Many of the entries showed a great deal of creativity as well as a keen understanding
of anti-discrimination issues and young peoples belief in the value of a diverse society.
Thank you to all the young people who made the effort to enter the competition, you gave us many
insights. I would also like to thank the teachers and parents who encouraged the children to enter
what was an uplifting competition.
The winners entries and runners up entries are reproduced in this issue of Equal Time – I hope
you enjoy them.
Stepan Kerkyasharian AM
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Creative Arts and Writing Competition
2009
For the past four years the Anti-Discrimination Board has held a competition for young people in
NSW, encouraging colouring, drawing and writing to promote anti-discrimination and highlight
living together with diversity. This competition has always run alongside Law Week.
This year the competition was a Creative Arts and Writing Competition with the theme ‘Diversity
Makes the Difference.’ Young people across NSW aged from 5-18 years were eligible to enter.
All state primary and secondary schools as well as youth health centres, libraries, multi-cultural
centres and youth centres across NSW were emailed and encouraged to apply by creating pieces
of work that address diversity in their community.
This year we requested young people use a variety of creative media to enter the competition.
This could include using a story, poem, song, PowerPoint presentation, drawing, poster, collage or
cartoon. We received nearly 300 entries from over 30 different schools from around the State.
The entries were divided into three age categories; 5-8 years, 9-12 years and 13-15 years. Judges
examined pieces in terms of creativity, originality and the impact of the message. Due to the high
numbers of entries received from the aged 9-12 category and the high quality of entries, the Board
decided to award two winners in this age category. The entries we received were very creative in
their expression and interpretation of diversity.
The winners received $100 book vouchers for themselves and for their school/agency and all
winners and runners up received certificates.
Congratulations to all our entrants, winners and runners up.
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Winners and Runners up
Age 5–8
Winner:

Georgia Natoli (aged 8) St Aloysius Primary School, Cronulla — Written work
Runners up:

Sophia Kenny (aged 8) from Forestville Public School — Cartoon

Mia Campbell (aged 6) from Annandale North Public School — Drawing and story

Annabel Dedener (aged 8) from Central Mangrove Public School — Poster
Age 9–12
Joint winners:

Luke West (aged 11) from Orange Grove Public School, Leichhardt — Rap Song

Kajol Priyanka (aged 11) from Wiley Park Public School — Written work
Runners up:

Aaron Clarke (aged 10) from Bourke/Walgett School of Distance Education, Brewarrina —
Written work

Rebekah Smart (aged 10) from Belair Public School, Adamstown — PowerPoint

Adrian Tasselli (aged 9) from Banksmeadow Public School — PowerPoint

Meredith Colagiuri (aged 9) from Kurrajong East Public School — Drawing/Flip-chart

Flaviah Edelkoort-Bonacci (aged 11) from Banksmeadow Public School — Poster

Harry Reynolds (aged 9) from Kurrajong East Public School — Poster
Equal Time Special Edition 2009
Age 13–15
Winner:

Tiana Podinic (aged 14) from Bossley Park High School — Poster
Runners up:

Saba Vayani (aged 15) from Glenwood High School — Written work

Prakash Dubey (aged 14) from Epping Boys High — Written work

Abby-Gai Robertson (aged 15) from Connections, Ettalong — Written work
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Equal Time Special Edition 2009
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Winner — Age 13–15
Tiana Podinic (aged 14) from Bossley Park High School –
Poster
‘Diversity is a beautfully put puzzle!’
An image of Tiana’s poster is available on the Anti-Discrimination Board website.
Text of poster reads…
People may be said to resemble not the bricks of which a house is built,
but the pieces of a picture puzzle, each differing in shape,
but matching the rest, and thus bringing out the picture.*
* Quote from Felix Adler
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Joint Winner — Age 9–12
Luke West (aged 11) from Orange Grove Public School,
Leichhardt — Rap Song
Diversity Makes The Difference
I’d like to say some words
On why ’Stralia’s really cool
’Coz ev’ryone is different
In the city, park or school
There’s people with strange skills
And abilities unlike yours
And cultures and traditions,
Religion, talk and laws
CHORUS
I’m not like him
And she’s not like me
Which is really awesome
It’s a cool way to be (clap)
If things were the same
It’d be really boring
But ’coz it’s not
Diversity is soaring! (clap)
She is from China
And he is from France
We all have our diff’rent ways
Of music, sport and dance
We’ve had diff’rent experiences
So we believe diff’rent things
With religion and mythology
We should be respecting
CHORUS
So what I’m try’na say here is;
We’re not all the same
And ‘coz we’re all together
We have a lot to gain
Equal Time Special Edition 2009
We learn about new cultures
How others do things, say like
Christmas
What I’m try’na say here is;
Diversity makes the difference!!!
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Equal Time Special Edition 2009
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Joint Winner — Age 9–12
Kajol Priyanka (aged 11) from Wiley Park Public School —
Written work
Diversity Makes The Difference
A multiracial society teaches people how to respect and understand the religion and
cultures of others. This leads to tolerance. It helps us learn to become a good human being.
To be good or bad does not depend on religion. Each of the great religions of the world
speaks about love, peace and tolerance. In reality there are no barriers between human
beings. These so-called barriers are being created by human beings.
Australia is a country where there are people from around the world. We are living,
schooling and working together. This is what I like most about its diversity. When we see
people of difference race, culture and belief, we get a good feeling. A feeling of being
different but yet, so important, we get to know their feelings and they get to know ours.
We should live together in peace and respect each other. The greatest power is when
individuals unite. Diversity is not our challenge but our blessing. We need to open our
country and our hearts in order to explore and exchange our culture with the rest of the
world.
When I look around me I see people that are different. This could be a result of physical
disabilities, mental disorders, sexual orientation, marital status, age or political belief. We
should accept people as they are, respect them, assist and appreciate them. We should
remember that we ought to treat people how we want to be treated ourselves.
In conclusion I am proud of living in Australia which is a country rich in diversity of culture,
language, beliefs, traditions and political views. Furthermore, we are given the privilege to express
our views.
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Winner — Age 5–8
Georgia Natoli (aged 8) St Aloysius Primary School, Cronulla
— Written work
Diversity
Makes the Difference
And different is good.
Everyone should
Be happy
The way
We are. There are
Different cultures, Viewpoints
Clothing, genders, Beliefs, flags and Emblem.
Everyone is
Different.
No one
Should
Be unhappy
That they
Are different.
Everyone has the right
To be different and treated fairly.
DIFFERENT IS GOOD!!!!
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Runner Up — Age 13–15
Saba Vayani (aged 15) from Glenwood High School —
Written work
The Beauty of Choice
You can be anything you want to be.
Isn’t that such a beautiful idea? Say it aloud – let the words trickle of your
tongue.Doesn’t it bring you such a sense of empowerment? If you want to
dance, then dance. If you want to drive a truck, then drive a truck. If you have a
certain belief, then who am I to tell you it is wrong?
Falling in love is such a beautiful thing, and no one should ever be deprived of
such an experience – that moment when you gaze across the room and
blushingly, awkwardly, realise why your heart is hammering so. Who am I to tell
you that your love is wrong?
By stereotyping – by pre-judging people by their appearance or religion or
occupation or anything, by placing everyone in their tiny, little categories and
leaving them there – we are not only harming other people. We are harming
ourselves. We are closing off the world into dozens of little mathematical
formulas and failing to recognise and respect people for what they are – simply,
people.
And that is why diversity is so important to us and to our community. It allows us
to see all our differences and not see hate, not see unacceptance, but see
choice. It allows us to open our eyes and love each other for being just people,
people with our loves and hates and like and dislikes, people with the right to
choose, and the right to celebrate choice.
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Runner Up — Age 13–15
Prakash Dubey (aged 14) from Epping Boys High — Written
work
A Kaleidoscope of Diversity
Imagine a world without diversity
Without colour, without flavour without respect and admire
Where no particular culture was celebrated
Or allowed their book of stories to be read to the world
Imagine a world where there is no community
Where people can live together without war and hatred
Where the grasses were not emerald coloured from all sides
Of different cultures were set in concrete and by one another
If we didn’t have a Kaleidoscope of diversity
Than we would not have a globe of knowledge.
Everytime I wake up from a heaven of dreams,
Appears a spinning navigation globe
There are over 200 Countries on Earth
On Seven different Continents, floating on top of the Seven Seas
With billions of islands, and an infinite amount of water
Full of respect, honour and harmony of Life
Nothing stops the spinning of the globe,
Nothing stops the world shining
If we didn’t have a Kaleidoscope of diversity
Than we would not have a globe of wisdom
Among the Six-Billion Humans that live on this great planet
There are 21,000,000 Australians that live within the world community
All 200 Countries represented on some Eight-Million Square
Kilometres of land,
The range from the hot, red and isolating deserts,
To the cool and calm beaches of the sea
Everyone share a wide variety of cultures and beliefs
Which breathe with such vigour and life
Australia is diverse with choice, and it is worth respecting
Because Diversity makes the difference for Australia’s culture.
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Runner Up — Age 13–15
Abby-Gai Robertson (aged 15) from Connections, Ettalong —
Written work
Diversity Poem
Diversity understands that each individual is unique
In-sight is seeing that people are not different just because of their race,
ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age or physique.
Verbally abusing someone because of their differences is wrong
Everyone has a right to believe that they belong.
Religion is often tampered with in many worldwide arguments causing fights
and problems, making a world a harsh place to feel welcome, just because you
believe in something different.
Sometimes I think the world will never be peaceful because of the way we act
towards each other. They just waste their time with insults but that time should
be better spent.
It’s about understanding each other and moving on beyond simple tolerance
and embracing the way people really are.
Treat people the way you would like to be treated is one of the oldest sayings in
the book.
You should stop judging people from now on based on the way they look.
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Runner Up — Age 9–12
Aaron Clarke (aged 10) from Bourke/Walgett School of
Distance Education, Brewarrina — Written work
Diversity Is So Cool
To me, diversity means difference – being different to others, having different
cultural backgrounds, of different ages, religions, races or gender.
There are many positive aspects of living in a world that is so diverse and full of
variety. No one person is the same. We are all different. We are lucky the world
we live in is so diverse.
Our country Australia and all countries around the world offer diversity. With
diversity we have opportunity to learn and gain knowledge about various
aspects in the world.
With age differences children, adults and the elderly all offer diversity. People of
all ages are learning things about each other that they may not have known a
child, adult or even the elderly could offer or do.
With variety in the world we have opportunity to try and experience different
things from all over the world. We have a chance to learn new skills and develop
them.
We’ve learnt to tolerate new things and now have the ability to listen and look at
different viewpoints with more respect for one another.
Without diversity we wouldn’t be as knowledgeable as we are, nor have the
opportunity to explore and learn new things.
Diversity gives us the chance to do more with our ives. It allows us to think
outside the box.
Diversity does make a difference; it is making a difference right now. It has given
me opportunities that I never thought would be possible if we didn’t have a
diverse world. I think diversity is so cool.
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Runner Up — Age 9–12
Rebekah Smart (aged 10) from Belair Public School,
Adamstown — PowerPoint
Images of Rebekah’s PowerPoint presentation are available on the Anti-Discrimination
Board website.
Runner Up — Age 9–12
Adrian Tasselli (aged 9) from Banksmeadow Public School
— PowerPoint
Images of Adrian’s PowerPoint presentation are available on the Anti-Discrimination Board
website.
Runner Up — Age 9–12
Meredith Colagiuri (aged 9) from Kurrajong East Public
School — Drawing/Flip-chart
For her entry Meredith produced a flip chart which consisted of eight illustrations each divided into
three sections, this gave over 500 possible combinations. The illustrations portrayed people from
different backgrounds and occupations. Images of Meredith’s flip chart are available on the AntiDiscrimination Board website.
Equal Time Special Edition 2009
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Runner Up — Age 9–12
Flaviah Edelkoort-Bonacci (aged 11) from Banksmeadow
Public School — Poster
An image of Adrian’s poster is available on the Anti-Discrimination Board website.
Runner Up — Age 9–12
Harry Reynolds (aged 9) from Kurrajong East Public School
— Poster
An image of Harry’s poster is available on the Anti-Discrimination Board website.
Runner Up — Age 5–8
Sophia Kenny (aged 8) from Forestville Public School —
Cartoon
An image of Sophia’s’s cartoon is available on the Anti-Discrimination Board website.
Cartoon text reads:
“Hey look at that it’s got a big head”
“Ha Ha bighead”
“She’s so weird isn’t she guys!
“Yeah”
“I was wrong”
“Hey you know what, it’s good to be different because it would be boring if we were all the same”
“You guys were right, it’s good to be different!”
“Yes that’s right”
We’re all different But that doesn’t matter
“Isn’t it great to be different!!!!!!!!!!!”
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Runner Up — Age 5–8
Mia Campbell (aged 6) from Annandale North Public School
— Drawing and story
Communicate
If we weren’t different we could get mixed up.
For an example if somebody wanted to talk to the person they wanted to talk to they
wouldn’t know who to talk to.
I have a lot of friends from around the world.
Tomo is Japanese. Mayssa is Muslim. Stiliana is Greek. I like playing with my friends and I
like them being from other countries. We are all happy together.
Runner Up — Age 5–8
Annabel Dedener (aged 8) from Central Mangrove Public
School — Poster
An image of Annabel’s poster is available on the Anti-Discrimination Board website.
Equal Time Special Edition 2009
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The Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW
What types of discrimination do we deal with?
The NSW Anti-Discrimination Board can only deal with discrimination complaints that are covered by the
NSW Anti-Discrimination Act. This means that we can only deal with a discrimination complaint if:
 it is based on any of the grounds listed below and happens in one of the areas of public life listed
below; or
 it is racial, homosexual, transgender or HIV/AIDS vilification, that is, a public act of incitement to hatred,
serious contempt or severe ridicule.
The laws do not allow us to deal with discrimination complaints based on other grounds (e.g. religion,
political conviction), or based on events in your private life.
Grounds
Sex (including sexual harassment, pregnancy and breastfeeding)
Race (including colour, nationality, descent, and ethno-religious or national origin)
Marital or domestic status
Homosexuality (male or female, actual or presumed)
Disability (past, present, future, actual or presumed)
Age
Transgender (transsexuality)
Carers’ responsibilities (in employment only)
Areas
Employment
Education
Obtaining goods and services (e.g. credit, access to public places, entertainment, government or
professional services)
Accommodation
Registered clubs
Where we are
Sydney
Level 4, 175 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000
PO Box A2122, Sydney South NSW 1235
ph (02) 9268 5555, fax (02) 9268 5500, TTY (02) 9268 5522
Enquiries/Employers Advisory Service (02) 9268 5544
Wollongong
84 Crown St, Wollongong NSW 2500
PO Box 67, Wollongong NSW 2520
ph (02) 4224 9960 fax (02) 4224 9961
TTY (02) 4224 9967
Newcastle
Level 1, 414 Hunter St
Newcastle West NSW 2302
ph (02) 4926 4300 fax (02) 4926 1376
TTY (02) 4929 1489
Toll free number — 1800 670 812
Equal Time Special Edition 2009
Website — http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/adb
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