Teacher's Resource Kit

Start classroom conversations about multicultural Victoria

Victoria's is a multicultural success story. According to the most recent 2021 Census, over half of all 6.5 million Victorians have at least one parent born overseas. We also:

• speak 290 languages
• have 314 different ancestries
• settle around 4,000 refugees in our state each year
• see around 10,000 people arrive in our state seeking asylum each year.

Sources:

• 2021 Victoria, Census All persons QuickStats
• SBS Australian Census Explorer
• Refugee and asylum seeker health and wellbeing

The role of the Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC) is to support, celebrate and advocate for our state's multicultural communities, including young multicultural people living in Victoria. One of the ways we connect with young multicultural people is through Victoria's diverse schools.

Cultural Diversity Week resources for teachers

Every year in March, we bring Victorians together to celebrate the colourful sounds, sights, movements and tastes of the state's rich multicultural communities. The next Cultural Diversity Week will be held from 21- 29 March 2026.

Cultural diversity touches us all, and we want to start conversations about it in our schools and our communities. To support this, we have designed a Teacher's Resource Kit to provide inspiration and assistance to bring cultural diversity to life in your classroom.

Cultural Diversity Week is a celebration of the best of what our multicultural society has to offer, and all Victorians can participate through a variety of in-person events and activities - this includes our state's diverse young people and students!

Teacher's resource kits

Teacher's stakeholder packs

Student competition

Collaborate with your classroom to enter the CDW competition celebrating the theme, Culture connects us all.

Discover cultures through relationships!

Students are encouraged to interview a classmate (or family member) about their culture, traditions or favourite cultural food, then present what they’ve learned through a creative medium such as a poster, drawing, collage, craft, song or short story.

To enter the competition, teachers are encouraged to submit student work or a photo collage of a class project celebrating intercultural exchanges by emailing communications@vmc.vic.gov.au The deadline is Wednesday 18 March 2026.

Students are also welcome to enter the competition directly via their guardian.

One winner will be selected in each of the two categories:

• Primary school students
• Secondary school students

Prizes include a Diversity & Culture Book Pack and free entry to attend the Victorian Multicultural Festival to be held at Grazeland in Spotswood from 27 to 29 March 2026. Shortlisted works from students will be showcased at the Victorian Multicultural Festival and promoted on the VMC’s digital channels. Schools or student entrants are welcome to opt-out of these opportunities should they wish to remain anonymous.

This initiative aligns with the guidance in the Victorian Government Department of Education’s Preventing and Addressing Racism in Schools policy, so feel free to incorporate this competition into existing activities your school may already have planned for Cultural Diversity Week or Harmony Week.

View our terms and conditions to enter the CDW student competition for reference.