To celebrate the start of Diversity Week, Professor Steven Schwartz, Vice-Chancellor of Macquarie University, will be joined by Mrs Sujatha Singh, High Commissioner of India, at the ceremonial opening in the central courtyard, with a traditional welcome to country from Chris Tobin. Entertainment will be provided by students showcasing bharatnatyam dancing, a traditional Indian artform used to tell stories. You will also find students performing a variety of musical styles at "busk stops" across campus.

A diverse selection of short films for your enjoyment, hosted by the FilmSoc, with guest speakers Gail Whiteford and Chris Marchand. Short film submissions are welcomed, and should be sent to Chris Marchand: macquariefilmsociety@gmail.com

All welcome.

Professor Peter Read (University of Sydney) and Professor Dennis Foley (University of Newcastle) will explore how non-indigenous Australians can justify their continued presence and love for Australia when Indigenous people remain dispossessed and their history unacknowledged.

All welcome.

Following a traditional smoking ceremony, the University Library presents the popular Living Library, featuring 16 "living books" for you to enjoy.

Our local community has a range of people from different cultures, religions and races; Indigenous people, immigrants, homeless people, refugees, people of diverse sexuality and retirees to name a few. The Living Library provides an opportunity to meet people you might not normally talk to, and hear each other's stories. The 'books' are people you 'borrow' for a conversation.

If you've never taken part before, you'll find the Living Library a rewarding and enriching experience. It's a wonderful way to break down barriers, see past stereotypes and build understanding. Come along and 'borrow' and Living Book: it might just change the way you see the world.

How it works:

Readers choose who they would like to borrow from the catalogue display and arrange the loan.
The loan lasts for 30 minutes.

If you are unable to reserve the book you would like, librarians may direct you to another. One of the great things about the Living Library is that you may end up reading a book you never expected, and gain an experience you might have missed.

All welcome.

Darren Compton from Descendance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dance Theatre will perform for staff and students. Descendance has both traditional and contemporary indigenous performers, and is now assisting in preserving dance from other world cultures.

Alongside the entertainment, the Faculty of Human Sciences host the "Hands and conversations across cultures" barbecue. Join us for lunch and a great conversation.

All welcome.

Objects can represent powerful reflections of cultural and personal identity, and are often important in the process of memory making. Cherished possessions are often linked with important relationships, life events and places, providing a sense of personal history and belonging. Diverse Objects: Trash, Treasure, Memory and Identity is an initiative between Macquarie University and Sotheby’s Australia that will provide an interactive and welcoming forum to tell the personal stories associated with objects that belong to members of the Macquarie community.

Tim Goodman, chairman of Sotheby’s Australia, will host an evening at Macquarie University looking at the history of objects linked to our community, and the people who own them. Tim started his career at Sotheby’s London and has 40 years’ experience in the Australian auction industry. During his career, Tim has presided over many of the largest Australian auction events. He is the longest serving fine art auctioneer in Australia. Through acquisitions and mergers, Tim has built the largest fine art auction group in the southern hemisphere. Tim is one of the few specialists referred to as a ‘generalist’, in that he has had vast experience across many fields.

This is a call for objects that are representative of the diverse nature of the Macquarie community. We invite you to contribute to our online project by submitting a photograph of your object and short paragraph outlining what your object means to you.

Submit your object to diverse.objects@gmail.com. To view objects that have already been uploaded to the project, visit Diverse Objects: Trash, Treasure, Memory, Identity on flickr.

Of those who contributors from the Sydney metropolitan area, 25 will be invited to join us at the event hosted by Tim Goodman on Tuesday 3 August. There will be a prize for the most interesting object selected on the night.

The Women's Officer and the Queer Officer welcome you to a forum on sexual diversity, with invited speakers:

• Gina, President of the Organisation Intersex International
• Gemma Faulks, Asexual Visibility and Education Network
• Katherine Cummings, Resource and Information Worker, NSW Gender Centre.

Find out more about intersex, transgender, and asexual communities, their experiences and the challenges they face. There will be an opportunity for questions after the presentations. If you want to learn more about sexuality, beyond male/female and straight/gay, then this is an event for you.

Join students for a demonstration of this Japanese martial art.

All welcome.

IMCOLOURBLIND Incorporated is a student-run charitable organisation that operates a subdivision at Macquarie University called IMCOLOLURBLIND@MQ. Our activities, events and social awareness campaigns aim to unite people through the common bond of the human race, building inclusivity, diversity and unity, which as a consequence, works towards the elimination of prejudice and racial discrimination. IMCOLOURBLIND Incorporated believes that by bringing people together, stereotypes fall apart.

The GIANT Handshake is a simple but powerful social awareness campaign. It is simple in that all that is required of you, as a participant, is for you to shake hands with the person closest to you, wherever you may be, at a particular time. It is powerful in that by shaking hands with a stranger, you are acknowledging them and respecting them as an equal human being. We hope that this will act as a conversation starter so that the meeting of the hands will develop into a meeting of the minds.

The first GIANT Handshake at Macquarie University and, as far as we know, the first of such an event to ever occur in the world, will take place at midday, mid-week, during Diversity Week. Help us make this a tradition at Macquarie University, and develop into a global social awareness campaign. Imagine the whole world shaking hands at the same time. With your help, we could create a truly GIANT Handshake. With your help we can truly develop inclusivity, diversity and unity at Macquarie University, our nation and our extended community- the world.

There will be no need to RSVP for the GIANT Handshake. All humans, by the nature of their humanity, are cordially invited.

IMCOLOURBLIND Incorporated is an inclusive community organisation and therefore if you wish to contribute ideas or become actively involved, please send us an email to us at: info@imcolourblind.org.

Macquarie University students present a festival of our community's various cultures, faiths, histories and practices. Join us to take part in a variety of workshops and displays, including international food stalls, calligraphy and henna.

All Welcome.

In the Atrium from 12:30pm to 2pm, the Language Café will celebrate Spanish language and culture and will offer you the opportunity to learn from fluent Spanish speakers and get a taste of Spanish culture through live music, food, dance and MORE.

This event is FREE for staff and students.

For booking and to let us know of any accessibility or dietary requirements email Svetlana.Martynovich@mq.edu.au or call 9850 6844.

Create your own art work using the imprint of your hand on a slab of clay. The imprint will then be folded to the meet the volume size of a brick. The bricks will then be fired using a purpose built paper kiln. Stacked as a collective mass of enclosed hands, the finished clay works will produce a look and feel of hearts, minds and hands in synthesis.

Presented by Xavier Modoux.

All welcome. RSVP to Rhonda Davis at rhonda.davis@mq.edu.au
Macquarie Art Gallery

Join Professor Lucy Taksa as she addresses social value and diversity. Over the past two decades diversity management has emerged as the accepted approach for valuing human differences in the workplace. A prominent feature of this approach is the construction of diversity as an asset that can be maximized for competitive business advantage. The presentation will consider the implications of this orientation for the value attached to cultural diversity by assessing whether Diversity Management and the rhetoric of productive diversity has changed the way migrant workers are viewed and represented.

This event is now full. Lunch canapés and beverages provided.

We each carry a personal map of places that shape our lives. The exhibition, MAP:me, shares the stories behind this 'personal geography'.

MAP:me, is part of a Museum Studies PhD project by Rachael Vincent. It is a collaboration with the residents of Wagga Wagga, featuring a series of personal maps: illuminated cane and paper sculptures in human form. The paper skin of each sculpture is a beautiful map of the places, near and far, that shape us. Each map is unique; each journey a snapshot of a life. Personal maps can cross oceans and continents. Our global age takes us beyond where we live and work, and though one location is our home, we are connected to the world.

The exhibition opens on Wednesday and will run until Friday 6 August.

Places are limited. RSVP to Andrew Simpson at andrew.simpson@mq.edu.au

When were you lost for words in a new environment? In Your Own Words is an experimental performance project about bridging cultures and sharing intercultural experiences at Macquarie University. The work has been created over the mid-year break by Macquarie students in collaboration with a professional theatre director. But it's not a traditional theatre piece! So bring comfortable shoes and prepare to enter into the unfamiliar as we lead you on this interactive exploration of diversity. There will be a short Q&A with the creators and collaborators after the performance.

Check out the video on YouTube - In your own words.

Invitation only. RSVP to Dr Daniel Johnston at daniel.johnston@mq.edu.au.

Please advise of accessibility and/or Austlan requirements in your RSVP.

This workshop is designed to feature many facets of communications such as Braille, deafblind techniques and Sign language used by Deaf and hearing impaired people. Participants can use ScreenReading software used on laptops and mobile phones and try texting by touch. The audience will be invited to participate in learning Braille, reading large print and to use equipment on display. The new Apple iPad will also be demonstrated in relation to its accessibility features and the emergence of ebooks. Ebooks are a contemporary example of technology developed for people with a print disability now being rolled out across society.

All welcome.
Macquarie University Accessbility Services

Macquarie University's international social club, iClub invites you to witness a cultural exchange from diverse cultures across the world. This event will showcase international student performances ranging from dance, song, instrumental music and a cultural costume fashion show.

All welcome.

Experience an Indian marketplace with all the sounds, sights and smells of an Indian celebration as we launch Macquarie University's Great India Project.

All welcome.

An evening of musical entertainment at the Lighthouse Theatre as we host three very different a capella groups, both home grown and from the wider community. The Macquarie University Singers are joined by Aurora Australis and guests The Spooky Men’s Chorale.

To reserve your place at this free event, email equityanddiversity@mq.edu.au

All welcome.

Ministry of Sound will be performing at the UBar.

More information on the UBar website.

This interactive workshop will focus on EXCELL – an intercultural skills training program that promotes Excellence in Cultural Experiential Learning and Leadership.

EXCELL provides students, professionals, and business people with the tools to build effective competencies for success in a culturally diverse context. EXCELL is skills-based and practice-focused, drawing on the culturally diverse backgrounds and experiences of participants to develop the WHAT, HOW and WHY of key social competencies for meeting personal, educational and career goals.

All welcome.

The Courtyard Challenge is based on the historic Great Court Run held at Trinity College, Cambridge, UK; and after a successful launch last year, the title of Champion is back up for grabs.

There will be a series of races across a range of categories, which will celebrate our diverse campus and draw attention to the AIME program. Once a new champion is decided, the event will conclude with an awards ceremony, accompanied by a BBQ and entertainment.

All welcome.

Students will race around campus in teams of 6. Teams will race between pit-stops and complete tasks to earn clues to help them towards the finish line.

Individuals will be placed into a team by the iCLUB Amazing Race organisers. Local and international students are welcome to participate. Refreshments will be provided at the finishing area for the teams. Winners will be announced shortly afterwards and prizes awarded.

Students can register their participation at the iCLUB stall during Diversity Week or by sending an email to sinead.ohalloran@mq.edu.au

All welcome.

We are committed to maintaining equal access for all throughout Diversity Week. Auslan interpreters will be at many events, but to be sure, please let us know if you need an interpreter. You can email us at equityanddiversity@mq.edu.au