Building Bridges – To live in Harmony

 

Building Bridges

    

Image credit: CityofSalisbury

To live in HARMONY

Harmony Day is celebrated  annually  in Australia on 21st March and it coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The main idea is that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights: Everyone Belongs.

Celebrate Harmony Day at Pearl Cove Library by joining our Human Living Library event - Building Bridges. 

At this event, you will be offered an opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue  with our "Living Books" from different cultures and backgrounds. Enhance your connection and respect for human diversity through interaction, and promote community harmony.

Human Living library  allows you to borrow real people as a book that they would not normally meet.

These volunteer books will share their  stories and  discuss openly with readers one on one conversation.

It helps dispel people's prejudices and break down stereotyping that occurs in our cities. It also contributes to reuniting our community leading to a worldwide movement to promote social change.

Our books include a local business owner who was born in Australia and currently supports the homeless, an Aboriginal person, Archie Rose, who is an activist & role model, a young Muslim woman who is a refugee from Syria, and a long-term unemployed person.

20 minutes each  "reading" session.

This is a free event and all  aged 16 and over are welcome !

EVENT INFORMATION:

Event:       Building Bridges – To live in Harmony

⏰  Date: Friday 19 March,2021

      Time：7pm -8.30pm

📍  Location: Pearl Room, Pearl Cove Library

👉 Places are limited  to the first 25 people and bookings are essential. 

👉 Bookings: eventbook@pearlcovelibrary.com.au or via Eventbrite

 MORE INFORMATION:

For information about event visit:

http://mylibrary.Pearlcovensw.gov.au/events/harmony-day-events

For information about Human libraries visit:

http://humanlibrary.org

For information about Harmony Day visit: 

https://www.harmony.gov.au

For further information or if you have any questions:

Visit us at Pearl Cove Library

Email: contacts@pearlcovelibrary.com.au

Phone: 02 9177 5588

World Education Day Blues

Diversifying education for a brighter future

Png Nexus. "Learning". Retrieved from: flickr commons

For this years World Education Day come and join Pearl Cove Library for their Human Living Libraries event called "Do You Know What I Know?:  a look inside the disparities of language and education".

When: Sunday, 24th Jan 2021

            11:30am - 4:00pm

Where: Pearl Cove Library

            "The Pearl Room"

What are Human Living Libraries?

    The Human Libraries Organisation is being embraced worldwide as a facilitator for increasing inclusivity and challenging perceptions. Their slogan "Unjudge Someone" exemplifies their wish for harmony and a doing away of misconceptions. The notion of a human living library is to provide a setting for one-on-one conversations with people who's experiences or lifestyles make them often misunderstood. These people volunteer themselves as open "books" offer up their thoughts and experiences for attendees to learn and grow from. You can see more about this here.

Do You Know What I Know?

    This event will offer us the chance to dispel the misconceptions we have about education and allow us to reform our ideas about what education should mean and offer. Looking in particular at the disparities of teaching across different cultures and the issues which arise from limiting cultural input into our education. Another large focus will be the damage caused by the loss of traditional and cultural languages and knowledge. We will have six incredible volunteers in on the day who will offer up their unique experiences and understandings for us to deliberate upon.

Our "Books" on the day will be:

·   An Indigenous Australian and authority on traditional education and learning methods

·   An Indigenous Australian / youth counsellor for indigenous students

·   An Iranian mother and childcare worker

·   A university graduate and businesswoman from Beijing, China

·   A refugee and educator from Damascus, Syria

·   An Iranian refugee and literary activist

Sessions will run for 20 minutes 

Please note: to meet more than one "book" you will have to make multiple bookings

This event is free - you can book here at Eventbrite

For more information please contact us

Phone: (02) 654 07 341

Email: eventstaff@pearlcovelibrary.com.au

Written by Marni Schlenert

Pearl Cove, it's time to have the talk

 Sorrow Unmasked: A human library of loss, resilience and connection

“Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.

And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.

And how else can it be?

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.”

- Khalil Gibran

Photo by Cherry Laithang

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location: Pearl Cove Library

Date: Saturday October 16^th, 2021

Time: 10am – 1pm (book a 20 minute appointment within this time period)

Tickets: $10, advanced bookings are necessary to secure a place. Book a ticket through Eventbrite here. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How often do you talk about the big stuff?

Come and join in Pearl Cove's human library this October 16th, where you can ‘borrow’ a human book for 20 minutes to learn more about loss, grief and resilience.

Maybe you lost a loved one, or you lost your job, or maybe your favourite gelato place closed and you’ve been feeling blue ever since. In this digital age, it’s easier than ever to distract yourself from examining life’s difficult moments, but are we losing out by keeping ourselves distanced from the universal experience of loss? Come and connect with our human books who can offer real insight into the experience of loss and how they grew around it.

Meet our books:

Maryanne Larkin: Co-founder of RUOK

Maryanne Larkin's husband Gavin was the founder of the RUOK suicide prevention charity. Having lost both her husband and son to cancer since, Maryanne has stated that acceptance has played a large role in her family coping with the unthinkable. Maryanne can share her experience in reaching a place of acceptance through grief. 

Jonathan Jones: Artist

Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi artist Jonathan Jones has a deep understanding of cultural loss and its lasting impacts. In 2016, Jones turned Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden into a memorial to loss, drawing attention to the unseen stories of indigenous Australian’s. Jonathan can share his thoughts and meditations on inter-generational sorrow and cultural resilience in Australia. (Read more about his work 'Barrangal Dyara' here.)

Sam Dastyari: Former senator

Former politician and author of ‘One Halal of a Story’ Sam Dastyari has experienced a public fall from grace but lives to tell the tale. Readers of this book should note that Sam will not be talking politics at this event but will instead be sharing his experience in grappling with the personal fallout of bad decisions and public ire. 

Melissa Tan: Amputee

Melissa Tan lost her leg in a road accident and continues to manage the resulting chronic pain today. As a former dance teacher, Melissa is now a florist in Pearl Cove. She would love to share her journey of joy and sorrow on her long road to mental and physical recovery. 

Ahmed Sorour: Refugee

As a lawyer in Beirut in 1986, Ahmed left Lebanon to come to Australia because of the Lebanese civil war. Now a Pearl Cove resident and passionate bush regenerator, Ahmed would like to share his experience in overcoming his grief for the life he left in Lebanon, and how he learned to love Australia.

Siobhan Morrell

Women’s Health: A Course in Action

Women's Health Week 2021

♢

A Human Living Library Event

image source

Women's Health: Why yours doesn't matter? 

“For much of documented history, women have been excluded from medical and science knowledge production, so essentially we’ve ended up with a healthcare system, among other things in society, that has been made by men for men.” — Dr Kate Young 

Women’s Health Week was created by Jean Hailes back in 2013, and is a nationwide campaign of events and online activities – all centred on improving women’s health and helping you to make healthier choices.

Holding an event for WHW would allow women to participate in dialogue created by women for women. We at Pearl Cove Library believe this is a social issue that would be nothing but informative and beneficial for the women of our community.

For more information click here.

How Human Living Libraries work?

Essentially, as a normal library and it’s average events would. Our library has sought out ‘living books’ – volunteers who could be considered specialists, in their own regards, to the Women's Health issue. You, the guest, will get to 'borrow' a 'book' and get the chance at an open dialogue. All in an attempt to encourage diversity, open-mindedness, and challenge prejudice. 

For more information click here.

About the Event: 

WHEN: Friday 10th September 2021, 4 - 7:20 pm

WHERE: Pearl Cove Library (Pearl room)

CONTACT US: 

Events Organiser: Aasia Akhtar

Email: PCLevents@gmail.com 

PH: (02) 9489 0653

We will be serving a light lunch! 

Bookings are essential at $10. Don't miss your chance, book here!

A special thanks to our Books:

♢ Magnolia Maymuru – Ambassador for the Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women’s Voices) project 

♢ Dr Vanessa Lee – Chair - Public Health Indigenous Leaders in Education Network

♢ Julie Mooney-Somers – Senior Lecturer in Qualitative Health Research at University of Sydney

♢ Abby Norman – Author of ‘Ask Me About My Uterus: A Quest to Make Doctors Believe in Women’s Pain’

image source

Aasia Akhtar.

Bringing Everyone Together

 

Pearl Cove Library invites you to join us in celebrating Harmony Day by hosting:  

                             Human Living Library event

         “Bringing Everyone Together and Enjoy Diversity”

"Harmony Day 2011" by Mosman Library is licensed under CC BY 2.0

What is Human Library ? 

The Human Library engages people in a process of gaining greater understanding about human diversity and increasing respect for difference. In this event, you will be having face to-face dialogue with our “Human Living Books” from different cultures and backgrounds share their stories and thought.

This also encourage and brings people together, find room for conversation which they do not usually encounter or have the opportunity to discuss their points of view. 

More information on Human Library, you may visit this website:

https://humanlibrary.org/

https://www.humanlibraryaus.org/

                                  Our "6 Books" for Loan (30 minutes each session) 

                                  Aghyad al-Atassi, Refugee community -Syrian Artist

                                              Nova Peris, Indigenous Sport-women

                                          Yang S., parents - Chinese migrant 

                                                          Alice, Youth Services 

                                     Maryam A., was raised in an Aboriginal settlement 

                                                   Debbie Higgison, Senior Citizen

                                                       Event Details:                                                             

                     Date:                   Sunday Mar 21^st 2021                                            

                    Time:                       1.00pm – 4.15pm

                    Venue:         Pearl Room, Ground Floor, Pearl Cove Library

                                               20 Malvern Road, Pearl Cove 2155 

                Cost: Free, only "24 spots" available, for younger adults age 15-25

                  Booking: Essential, thru Click here Eventbrite before 12th Mar 2021

                                                    For more information,          

                            Contact: Amelia S., Library Manager 0470 815778

                                   or email: Amelia S.@pearlcovelibrary.com.au

      OR  call Pearl Cove Library 02 98175244 ext 1203 (Mary, event coordinator)

                        Credits to: Human Library at University of Essex by University of Essex and 

                                                              Harmony Day 2011 by Mosman Library

                                                                                                              Swee Wong