GET INVOLVED
One Billion Stars is a global weaving movement that focusses on bringing people together to create safe and creative communities that are committed to ending violence.
Anyone can learn to weave a star and get involved in the One Billion Stars project. Watch the One Billion Stars weaving tutorial or illustrated guide, gather your star weaving materials for your workshop, create an installation or register to become a Star Weave Community.
In 2012, I was moved by my communities response to the rape and murder of a young local woman named Jill Meagher.
I decided to draw on my love for my Samoan culture of weaving and to share it with others. This was the start of the One Million Stars to End Violence project.
The original goal was to teach and invite people around the world to weave one million stars for a display in 2018. Each woven star is a symbol of light, courage and solidarity to end all forms of violence, including violence against women, bullying and racism.
In 2018, during the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, one million hand woven stars from over 15 countries were displayed in King George Square. Over 2.4 million stars were received from communities across the world, including Canada, Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Japan, Barbados, Cook Islands, England, Ireland, Scotland, Kenya, USA and Malaysia.
2022 marks 10 years since the One Million Stars to End Violence project was created. Today we have a new goal: to weave one billion stars for violence free communities by 2032.
Get involved and follow our steps below or register to be a Star Weave Community and pledge to weave anywhere between 10,000 and one million stars.
1. Watch our Star Weaving Tutorial
We’ve created a star weaving tutorial on youtube for you to follow to learn how to weave a star. We’ll be updating this one shortly, but for now, it’s easy enough to follow and get started.
There are lots of different versions to weave a star. This technique is the simplest one that we have come across. It comes from the Torres Strait Islands and Samoa.
We teach this star weaving technique in our workshops and to our star weavers around the world.
2. Gather your Star Weaving materials
You can use a variety of materials to weave your stars. Some people like to re-use materials found around the home or workplace, like posters, magazines or newspapers. Simply cut your strips into 50cm lengths, 3cm wide and off you go! Using paper is a great way to repurpose and recycle.
We’ve also got some star weaving kits to help you get started. Our star weaving kits include:
- pre-cut materials.
- Paper instructions plus an online link to our youtube star weaving tutorial.
- A sample of a woven star.
3. Photograph your star weaving
We love to see who our star weavers are, as well as the beautiful stars that are woven. Please ensure you have permission to photograph and share photos online or with us.
Tag us at @weaveonebillionstarsby2032 and #onebillionstars to give us permission to share your pics on our facebook, Instagram and website.
Photographing and even having a short survey after the workshop, is also a great way to collect data about the reach and impact of star weaving for your organisation, workplace and school.
4. Create a woven star installation.
Using your woven stars, you can create your own mini star installation. We have lots of images and examples on our website and social media.
One of the most popular installation or display designs is hanging them from string. You can create a chandelier type using a hula hoop or display them in lengths along a wall. The options and possibilities are endless! Check out our Create an Installation article here for more tips and tricks on how to string your stars for display.
5. Become a Star Weave Community.
If you’re ready to weave more stars and build connections throughout your community, contact us and register to be a Star Weave Community.
A Star Weave Community pledges to weave anywhere between 10,000 stars to one million stars. Learn more here.