Mission Accomplished

As the week came to a close and the weekend began to set in, on the lips of every member of  our cohort was excitement yet uncertainty. We all knew we started early at the Jewish Museum and would make our way to the city to embark on some form of scavenger hunt, nothing more.

We arrived at the Jewish Museum of Australia at 10am on Sunday morning and were ushered into a small meeting room. After going around a circle and speaking about events in our lives since our last meeting (I’d be lying if I said the majority wasn’t about the US election), we briefed about our activity in the Jewish Museum. We began in the “Standing Up” exhibition, showcasing influential people who stood up for a cause and made a difference. Most were Jewish, others were not.

We each chose an individual with whom we connected, whether it be the cause for they have dedicated themselves to or for their morals and beliefs. Above each individual was a quote of theirs, hinting further at their personality and beliefs. We were also asked to choose one of these quotes, some chose their person’s quotes and others chose a different person’s quote. We then discussed who and why we chose our person. This was very important and valuable as we were able to glean an insight into the perspective of our cohort members and were also able to be exposed to more than we had read in our reading time. To conclude, in the Diller spirit we analysed the success and potential for improvement. We agreed that the exhibition should have featured some youth instead of only older people.

Before leaving for the city, we were given a short period of time just to look around the museum privately. When that was done, we walked to the tram station where our wait was lengthy. This however was not necessarily a bad thing as we had an opportunity to socialise and get to know each other. The group’s comfort among each other was really brought out here. Unlike to our previous two sessions where there was an air of discomfort as we didn’t all know each other, this time, people who hadn’t known each other previously were friends, it was very clear that we were starting to become a single unit.

When we arrived at the city, we were instructed to take out our phones and join a scavenger hunt on the app Goose Chase and select their team. We were also given a printout for us to use to record social injustices which we witnessed throughout the day. Our scavenger hunt began, and over the next two hours we collected points for completing tasks. Tasks included finding graffiti that we liked in Hosier lane, becoming a tourist and visiting a site which we had never seen before in the city, we visited an Aboriginal cultural centre, spoke with and got a photo with a vendor of The Big Issue, asked shops about their production methods and employee treatment and many more.

We were also given $5 and told to find “the most we can get with it”. For different groups it got a wide variety of different things. One group compiled an essentials package for a needy person. At the end of the day we were informed that the purpose for that was to teach us about an organisation making care packages with $5 for the needy, showing us how far $5 can go.

 

Throughout the day, groups had interesting experiences like discussions with shops assists about sweatshops and the ethical clothing, discussions with Muslims at an Anti-Islamophobia stall where they discussed similarities in Judaism and Islam.

To finish off, we regrouped to discuss and process our experiences. We concluded the day having had an unforgettable experience and having forged close friendships which were very evident as we left together.

- Kivi Franks