The Centenary of Federation celebrations in 2001 have already generated a great deal of written and visual texts, quiet reflection, energetic discussions and arguments concerning Australia's changing national identity, it's heroes, lifestyle, work and issues concerning immigration and aboriginal Australians.

The launch of the Web of Nations was the culmination of a year long community education program funded by the Commonwealth Centenary of Federation Grants. The project entitled Our Nation has many Cultures sought firstly to introduce participants to the historical background of the Federation of Australia in January 1901 by reviewing and interpreting historical events.

These understandings have acted as springboards to other learning tasks and events. Participants have engaged in class discussions about the notions of nationhood, Australianess, heroes, immigration, work, and the future of Australia as a nation. These conversations have led to research and writing around these themes. Many of these writings can be found on the web-site. The project has provided a focus for the classroom activities at the Flemington Reading and Writing program throughout 2000.

The web-site was developed by students of the multi media class who learned how to create web pages and participated in the planning and shaping of the site. Students were also involved in an excursion to the Immigration Museum and the State Library to gather information and learn more about their country.

The Fantastic Federation International Food Day held in adult learners week in September 2000, was seen as a celebration of the diversity of cultures in Australia, and particularly in the suburb of Flemington. In attendance were third and fourth generation Australians from Anglo-Celtic backgrounds, Koreans, Chileans, El Salvadoran, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Thais, Chinese, East Timorese, Polish, Hungarian, Palestinian, Syrian, Somali and Afghani, Japanese, Iraqi, and Indonesians.

Each student brought food from their cultural background with a little description of their dish. The Aussie pavlova and Lamingtons were showcased as enduring icons of Australian food. All of these activities have added to the students' English skills, computer/IT proficiencies, their historical and cultural knowledge and their sense of belonging to the diverse society we enjoy in the Australia of this new century.

The launch of the web site was therefore a celebration of multiculturalism at work in the community. It was also a celebration of good practice in community education where learning is seen as a holistic cultural practice. Language, literacy, knowledge and cultural understanding were all developed through an integrated range of activities. Learners knowledge was valued and the many different cultural perspectives were incorporated into a united vision of what it means to be an Australian

The web site was launched by the writer and Flemington resident Barry Dickins who wrote a poem A Million Australias specifically for the occasion. Readers are invited to browse the web-site and join in the celebration.

Liz Suda and Jan Lacey