Cultural exchange and celebrations

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Celebrating diversity

The EDEAS team has over 10 different ethnicities and we can also provide cultural diversity workshops to enhance your children’s experiences of different cultures.

Read a Book Day – 6 September

National Read a Book Day is celebrated every year on the 6th of September. On this day, both adults and children alike are encouraged to take a break from the usual every day and set aside some time to read a book. You don’t have to finish a whole book (especially if you pick up a novel!) as it’s the taking part that counts.

Resources

European Day of Languages – 26 September

The European Day of Languages (E.D.L.) is observed on 26 September annually. This day promotes awareness about language learning and protecting linguistic heritage. The overall purpose is to raise awareness of Europe’s rich linguistic and cultural diversity, which must be encouraged and preserved. It also strives to broaden the spectrum of languages that people learn throughout their lives to improve bilingualism and intercultural understanding. E.D.L. provides a chance to honour all of Europe’s languages, particularly those spoken less frequently and spoken by migrants.

Resources

World Fun Fair Month – September

September is World Fun Fair Month. We have put together a collection of ideas and resources you can use in your school during World Fun Fair Month. Find out more.

Black History Month – October

Black history month runs for the whole of October and this year the them is ‘Saluting our sisters’, which aims to raise awareness and celebrate black women from history and in our current society.

Black history month is also an opportunity for children and schools to explore the cultures of their wider community.  You can contact local community groups or parents and arrange for them to meet with you children and share their experiences, photographs and stories.

Black history month 2023

Resources

Islamophobia Awareness Month – November

Islamophobia Awareness Month (IAM) was founded in 2012 by a variety of organisations. IAM launched with an event that was held in the London Muslim Centre on the 2nd November 2012.

Now an annual mark in the calendar, IAM aims to raise awareness of Islamophobia in the UK and showcase the positive contributions of Muslims in society.

The theme this year is Muslim stories.  The goal of this year’s campaign is to facilitate connections among individuals from diverse backgrounds, including both Muslims and non-Muslims, using the transformative power of storytelling.

Everyone has a story to tell and we want to encourage everyone from all walks of life to take part. Your story could be your own experience, or that of someone you admire.

Whether you are Muslim or not, we want to hear your stories of examples of inspiring Muslim role models or making a positive change to tackle Islamophobia in your workplace.

The campaign has created a free resource pack for establishments that contains suggestions, advice, facts, including:

All are suitable with differentiation for EYS and beyond.

Other resources

Diwali – 1 November

Diwali is the most important festival of the year in India — and for Hindus in particular.

It is celebrated across faiths by more than a billion people in the world’s most populous nation and the diaspora. Over five days, people take part in festive gatherings, fireworks displays, feasts and prayer.

Diwali is derived from the word “Deepavali,” which means “a row of lights.” Celebrants light rows of traditional clay oil lamps outside their homes to symbolize the victory of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance.

Resources

Human Rights Day – 10 December

Dignity, freedom, and justice for all

“We must stand firm against rising intolerance and build a future of dignity, security, justice & human rights for all.” 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres 

10 December 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of one of the world’s most groundbreaking global pledges: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This landmark document enshrines the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being – regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. 

The Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 and sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected.   

Available in more than 500 languages, it is the most translated document in the world. 

Resources

World Religion Day 21 January

World Religion Day takes place each January, aiming to promote understanding and peace between all religions as well as mutual understanding and tolerance between peoples from different backgrounds.

Holocaust Memorial Day – 27 January

‘That is when the trouble started for the Jews. Our freedom was severely restricted by a series of anti-Jewish decrees’.

– Anne Frank, diary entry, Saturday 20 June, 1942 – reflecting back on May 1940 when the Germans arrived in the Netherlands

The theme this year is ‘Fragility of Freedom’ and explores what freedom really means.

Roma Gypsies – the forgotten victims of the Holocaust

On the morning of 27 January 1945 the Auschwitz-Birkenau camps still held some 7,000 prisoners. Over a million people deported to Auschwitz perished there. It is estimated that six million Jews were exterminated in the death camps. The genocide of over 500,000 Gypsy people during the Holocaust still remains a relatively unknown fact.

Despite the genocide committed against Roma and Sinti people by the Nazi regime, their experiences were only fully recognised by the West German Government in 1981 and the genocide is only now becoming more widely known.  There is no provision in the curriculum to specify this is taught in school as part of Holocaust education and yet Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people have been part of British history for centuries.

Lunar New year 10 February

Year of the dragon: Lunar New Year (also known as Chinese New Year) marks the start of a new lunar year and falls in January / February. In 2024 Lunar New Year begins on 10 February. It is celebrated with gifts, fireworks and dragon and lion dances and culminates on the 15th day with a lantern festival. It is thought to be largest annual human migration as Chinese return home to spend time with their families. The festival is also celebrated in many other east Asian countries.

Ramadan 11 March to 10 April

Ramadan is the 9th month in Islamic calendar / Hijri Calendar. The length of the Month varies between 29 and 30 days depending on the sighting of the Shawwal Moon which leads to the much awaited Islamic festival of Eid ul Fitr on the 1st of Shawwal. Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and during this holy month, Al-Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W.). The word ‘Ramadan’ comes from the Arabic world ‘Ramad / Ramida’ which means scorching heat or drought. So the word Ramadan means abstinence from eating and/or drinking anything from dawn till dusk. 

Black inclusion week 13 – 19 May

Black Inclusion Week 2024 is set to be the biggest yet with ground breaking events, inspiration speakers and content for everyone as we explore our 2024 theme Empowered for change: Building a better future together.

George Floyd’s Anniversary 25 May

George Floyd’s Anniversary is a day of remembrance held annually on May 25th to honour George Floyd’s life and the fight against racism.

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month

Through celebration, education and raising awareness, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller history month (GRTHM) helps to raise awareness of these communities and their contributions to society, and to offset negative stereotyping and prejudices.  GRTHM takes place every June but these resources can be used at anytime of the year to support awareness of Traveller history and culture.

This year’s theme is “What does ‘family mean to you?”

An opportunity to look at the different forms family can take – whether it’s parents, grandparents, siblings, neighbours or friends. It’s no secret of the importance of family for many Romany, Irish Traveller, Roma and nomadic communities and people – whether by choice or otherwise, family holds a sacred place.
This year, we’re exploring the theme of “What does family mean to you?”, looking at the different shapes and forms ‘family’ can take, the relationships we have with each other, and the importance of family as a support network.
By taking part in GRTHM 2024, we hope you’ll have gained a deeper understanding of the richness of Romany Gypsy, Irish Traveller, Roma and nomadic people, histories, cultures and traditions. We also hope this theme will resonate with your own exploration of what family means to you, related or otherwise.

View our resources and competition

Eid ul-Adha 16 June

Each year Muslims celebrate both Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha – but the names often get shortened to just ‘Eid’.

Eid al-Adha – which means ‘feast of the sacrifice’ – is celebrated just over two months after Eid al-Fitr, at the same time when many Muslims perform the Hajj pilgrimage.

Refugee week 17 – 23 June

“To me, a home is where you feel loved, safe, and cherished.”- Malala Yousafzai

The theme for Refugee Week 2024 is “Our Home”. From the places we gather to share meals to our collective home, planet earth: everyone is invited to celebrate what our Our Home means to them.

Home can be a place of refuge, a feeling or a state of mind. It can be found in smells, tastes and sounds. From the clothes we wear to the words we grew up with. It’s in food, music and arts. It’s in our cultures and in our landscapes.


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