Sisters, Lena Stefanovska and Dana Kokalevski have combined their passion to promote tolerance and respect through a successful cultural exchange program between students at Cabramatta Public School and Kemblawarra Public School. Lena and Dana, both teachers, set out to build strong links with each other’s school communities. With the support and enthusiasm from the schools’ principals, other teachers and parents this successful exchange continues with increasing rewards for all involved.

In this exchange program, Stage 2 students were offered the opportunity to investigate and explore diverse cultural identities. Initially this involved students writing letters and emails to each other which included descriptions of their physical appearance and personality traits. Over time, this grew to students swapping information on holidays, writing about their families and communicating independently with one another. The program was then extended to include reciprocal school visits and the production of a film made by students from Bondi Beach Public School.