SBS Learn is celebrating Diwali in classrooms with a ready-to-go resource for teachers across Australia 

SBS Learn is giving teachers the opportunity to share a greater understanding of the South Asian cultural celebration Diwali/Deepavali in alignment with the Australian curriculum 

8 November 2023

SBS Learn is celebrating the Festival of Lights for the second year with an exciting creative educational video resource to help share the festivities of Diwali in classrooms.  

Filmed in collaboration with Primary School teacher, Vakula Bhattar, this multilingual ‘Celebrate Diwali’ educational resource is based on creating a kolam /rangoli artwork for the Festival of Lights, an important celebration in the South Asian cultural calendar. The resource includes inclusive practical activities in seven languages – including English – to reflect the cross-cultural connections which define the spirit of Diwali/Deepavali. 

Primary School teacher at Girraween Primary School, Vakula Bhattar, said: “Diwali is an important time for many Australians and is marked as one of the biggest and most important days of the calendar for many South Asian households. It’s a time of religious rituals, community bonding and a moment to share traditions with the younger generation, with stories that I’m excited to extend to my classroom.”  

“Building on the strength from last year’s resource, I had many people from the community, even those who weren’t teachers, use the resource and feel a sense of pride in our work. I was beyond happy.” 

To connect with more communities and classrooms across Australia, SBS Learn has also translated the step-by-step instructional videos across seven languages – Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Malayalam, Nepali, Punjabi and Tamil, as well as captions in English. 

The resource is based around an art activity to create a kolam – meaning beauty in Thamizh (Tamil) which morphs into a rangoli of geometric patterns and curved loops. Guided by Vakula, students learn how to create their own kolam and rangoli whilst also learning key differences between the two. The resource on kolam / rangoli artwork also includes context about how Diwali is celebrated in Australia, and the different rituals people undertake to prepare for the festivities.  

For a pdf copy of this media release, click here.