Transforming Encounters with Others

About CHAT

Cultural – Hearing – Asking – Telling

The CHAT Project is an initiative of Scripture Union to help Australian children, young people and families from all backgrounds make the most of our vibrant diversity, by gaining the skills and confidence to listen, engage and live well with people who are different to them.

Did you know, according to the last census, that nearly half of Australia’s population (49%) were either born overseas or had at least one parent born in another country? Or that more than 1 in every 5 Australians speaks a language other than English at home? In fact there’s more than 300 language groups represented throughout Australia today – each with their own culture and life experiences.

Our modern society struggles with differences, as we naturally live most comfortably with those who look, think and sounds like us. So in this rapidly changing landscape, it is vital for our young people to know how to listen to, learn from and work with others from different cultures, beliefs and backgrounds to their own.

CHAT Program

The program is designed for work with small and diverse groups of students, of up to a class size, and with at least 40 minute long sessions.

SU has developed an innovative new resource called the CHAT Program, to be delivered by trained chaplains or school staff, and designed to help schools to meet the requirements of the Australian Curriculum for Intercultural Understanding.

The CHAT Program consists of 8 weekly sessions that accelerate the social interaction capabilities of students through activity-based learning, utilising the following graduated topics:

Come Together – it all starts with practical steps to connect.
Communication – exploring the power of hearing, asking and telling.
Curiosity – extending ourselves to learning more about others and so gain perspective.
Conflict – our differences are real and normal, but need to be brought out into the open.
Compassion – unpacking empathy as a valuable tool in social interactions.
Change – starting with me but reaching out to others and society.
Community – imagining our ideal world where all people can live well together.
Celebration – enjoying the social benefits of stronger bonds with others.

The program is designed for work with small and diverse groups of students, of up to a class size, and with at least 40 minute long sessions.

CHAT Camps

SU has a rich history of working with local churches to run fun, safe and life-changing camps, beach missions and holiday programs for children and young people. However in our increasingly diverse society we recognise the need to develop our cultural awareness, to engage people from a wider breadth of cultural stories, and to demonstrate fresh ways where everyone can participate in authentic and healthy conversations about faith, belief and what we care about the most.

CHAT provides an exciting platform for camp teams to step into this culturally rich space. Building on our commitment to vibrant dialogue, and utilising the eight stages of the CHAT Program, CHAT Camps will embrace culture and so pioneer novel expressions of camps, backed up by training, resources and support.

Our hope is that CHAT and growing our cultural awareness will invigorate SU camping, and give more children and young people a chance to discover life in God’s big story.

Training

We offer a range of training events and services around CHAT and our engagement with others who are different to us.

Most of these are in-person, and occasionally online. In addition, please enquire about assistance in addressing your local intercultural needs or challenges.

Cross-Cultural Training

Please enquire for more information

Enquire

CHAT Training

Resources

The field of cross-cultural engagement is vast, far larger and more complex than we can address in our small team at SU. Therefore we are keen to find and highlight other organisations who are making a valuable contribution and who we encourage you to check out.