Twenty music and film students from the University of Melbourne recently completed an innovative New Colombo Plan mobility project in the Cook Islands, working with the local community to explore issues of sustainability, climate change, history and community through the creation of unique sound and vision artworks.

The students, from the University of Melbourne's Victorian College of the Arts, participated in a song writing workshop with students from Tereora College in Rarotonga, conducted music and dancing workshops with local artists and composed more than 20 innovative soundscapes inspired by the Cook Islands.

The students performed their compositions for the local community at a special event arranged by Australia's High Commission and attended by over 50 guests including Mr Albert Nicholas Minister of Internal Affairs, the Secretaries of the Cook Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The students also showed a documentary on their experiences.

The connections formed through the project have continued to grow on the students' return to Australia, with ongoing exchanges of materials and ideas between Tereora College and the Victorian College of the Arts. Both institutions hope to make the song writing workshop an ongoing event.