YNET- DIVERSITY ROCKS!

Introduction

YNet or Youth Network aims to understand ‘the Other’ youth of different religious, cultural, ethnic, socio-economic backgrounds in the wider Australian community. Sai Young Adults are the nexus between various groups of youth through activities ranging from visiting places of worship and cultural significance to organising large events. YNet is founded on the principle of “Unity in Diversity”.

Diversity Rocks, an outdoor community festival, was organized by the Sai Young Adults (SYA) of Australia on April 12th 2008 in the City of Greater Dandenong.

Organising committee predominately consisted of SYA

The Sai youth based the event on Sri Sathya Sai Baba's message of unity in diversity, of the inherent Human Values of Love, Truth, Peace, Right Conduct and Non-Violence. Diversity Rocks was the culmination of National Youth Week (NYW) 2008. The Sai Young Adults received an award on the day for their contribution to NYW 2008 and a special mention by the Youth Coordinator and Mayor of Dandenong.

SYA received an award for their contribution to the National Youth Week 2008

BMX competition reaching extraordinary heights

As a group we felt that the success of the event was partly down to the enthusiasm and diligence of youth volunteers from all walks of life, but also an unseen force was at work ensuring the weather was sunny and everything ran better than expected. The musical performers really imbibed the spirit of the occasion and invited children and members of the public from different countries to even join them on stage! The ‘feel’ of the event was light, happy and family friendly, something that the public commented upon. One lady (when asked about how she felt about the day), paused, looked up and said very thoughtfully, “You know diversity really does rock!”

Bollywood workshop, which included dancing, sari makeover, Indian art

The festival had something for people of all ages. For the children there was face painting, Bollywood dress ups, bubble blowing and dental checks. For adolescent boys there was basketball (including a visit by a professional player and free giveaways) and skate and bike competitions. For youth there were dance workshops, golf putting and an array of bands playing on the main stage. There were also food stalls, an information booth, council wildlife exhibitions and a quote box in each marquee; a small message for each visitor aimed at lifting their spirits and putting a smile on their faces.

Basketball clinic.

The Journey

70 Sai youth from Victoria, Sydney and Queensland played a role in either the organizing or running of the event. The Sai Young Adults approached the task with the attitude of loving service. We felt that we could differentiate this event from other events by bringing a loving attitude to each personal interaction and service being carried out.

We had not undertaken an event such as this before and didn't know where to start!

Carrying swami's message into the society

We decided to educate ourselves first. Our first step was to visit ‘City Life Church’ a truly rocking Christian Church that injected modern day rock music with religious themes into the Church service. The City of Greater Dandenong then organized an ‘interfaith bus tour’ for our youth on a Sunday. We visited a mosque, Chinese temple, sacred Aboriginal site and Lutheran Church and had the faith leaders explain to us the basics of their religion. By the end of the day we discussed the underlying unity of each faith and the value that they brought to the individual and society. It was another step in our own personal journey.

Golf Putting Challenge

After the inspiration of the interfaith tour we approached the concert. We broke up into 3 groups: Recruitment, Promotion and Event management. The Recruitment team had the task of recruiting the best talent possible for the concert with a very limited budget. The results were amazing! Recognized bands and solo artists from Australia and the local area treated the crowd to a fun and memorable afternoon. The Promotion team estimated that 2500 people came to Diversity Rocks, including people from different cultures, faiths and walks in life. This was a credit to their hard work. The event management team ensured that the program ran smoothly without any hitches and injected enthusiasm and joy! The fact that things ran so smoothly was a talking point amongst the council organizers.

Face painting and henna Booth was jam packed for the whole day!

The most important part of the whole journey was the transformation taking place in the hearts of the youth. This bubbled over during the later part of the concert where all the volunteers were asked to come on stage and dance to the multicultural rhythm of Nicky Bomba. Our hearts were thrilled at the little children on that stage, drums and tambourine in hand dancing to the music. We truly felt that there is joy in living together, sharing together and enjoying life as a multicultural Australia. Bringing joy to others is really a gift to oneself.

World renowned artist Nicky Bomba performing for Diversity Rocks

SYA Australian logo at the back of the T-shirt

We thank Swami from the bottom of our Hearts for bringing these experiences to us and allowing us to taste the sugar that is love in the glass of water that is humanity. It is only through experience that we can understand what our Dear Sai has been teaching us for so long.

Diversity Rocks T-Shirt