26 Mar 2026
A group of multilingual Aranmore Catholic College students are the stars of a music video launched for Harmony Week.
The student song, which is in six languages – Portuguese, Arabic, Anuak, Swahili, Spanish and English, is called ROCK PAPER SCISSORS. It a strong uniting message that we are all more similar than different.
The music video, now available on YouTube, celebrates friendship, family and cultures in Australia and the other countries they have lived in.
Year 10 student singer Lyna said the title of the song was in recognition of the game everyone was able to play, despite language barriers.
“When all of us first arrived in Australia we didn’t speak the same language and Rock, Paper, Scissors was an easy game everyone could understand, even when they don’t speak the same language.”
“That is why that game is the title of our song. Even though we are all from different countries we came up with ideas together and made good teamwork,” Lyna said.
The song and video were created during a youth arts program run by Same Drum in partnership with the Intensive English Centre at Aranmore Catholic College and Healthway.
Six facilitating artists collaborated with the students, including Rita, a singer who is also a former student of Aranmore.
“Throughout the workshops the young people were trying new things and letting each other into their worlds. Their song is about their personal and cultural values, and all the things that bring them joy and belonging,” said Rita.
Year 10 lead vocalist Areej said that the song was about working together.
“We loved sharing our ideas, cultures and talents with each other. It gave us an opportunity to talk about the things that matter to us. It helped us feel comfortable talking to friends and sharing our ideas with friends and also learning new words in English from friends.”
The young participants worked with a team of high-profile artists to create the music video, including filmmaker Poppy van Oorde-Grainger, musician Paulie P, cinematographer Tim Fitzgerald, dancer Mwaba Mubanga, editor Liam Oz and singer Rita Yousif.
The music video was released for Australia’s Harmony Week and the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and will screen at Perth Festival before the main feature film at Somerville Auditorium from 23-29 March.
Same Drum’s youth arts program is supported by WA Government and Creative Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund.
