Tim Fawssett, SU QLD’s Cross Cultural Coordinator who has extensive experience working in the inter-faith space, ran SU QLD’s intercultural training day late last year, teaching the participants how to approach and engage people from other faiths.
“The day was all about equipping the chaplains and youth workers with the skills and confidence to know how to talk and listen to people of different faith backgrounds, while challenging their own understanding ,” Tim says.
“We started the day processing our motivations for, challenges with, and opportunities to engage with people of other faiths and cultures in our local communities.
“As part of the day we took the group to a local Sikh Gurudwara and Bosnian mosque to engage with people from other faiths.”
Tim says he’s received a lot of feedback from participants saying they really enjoyed engaging with people from other cultures to better understand their needs.
“One chaplain told me it gave her better skills to engage with her local Muslim community. She has since reached out to members of her local community to find out how she can better support their children at school.”
In 2019, Tim will be leading further training and program development in this space. Chaplains will have the opportunity to upskill in this area, and deepen their understanding of how to best support and engage with people from other faith and cultural backgrounds.