Harmony Day (Source: Vinyl World)
On Monday 21 March, people across Australia will come together to celebrate Harmony Day. This year, theme for Harmony Day is “Everyone Belongs”. Harmony Day is dedicated to celebrating Australia’s cultural diversity. For several years the official slogan for Harmony Day was “You + Me = Us”.
Harmony Day is important, but it is equally important to know its roots.
In early 1970s, multiculturalism was initially developed as a program of immigrant settlement and welfare support that aimed to assist migrants from non-English-speaking backgrounds to become Australian without jettisoning their previous cultural heritage. In 1977, the Australian Ethnic Affairs Council defined multiculturalism according to principles of national cohesion, recognition of cultural identity and promotion of social equality.
Prime Minister John Howard commissioned Eureka Research to undertake an anti-racism study in 1998, to "explore and understand the subtleties and nature of racism in the Australia of the late 1990s with a view to mounting an effective mass media and/or education anti-racism campaign". Among the research conclusions there was a clear need for an explicit anti-racism campaign. About 85% of respondents recognised that racism was widespread within Australia.
Not much was changed since 1998 in terms of the deeper social psychology of Australia. Howard Government suppressed the complete findings of the Eureka report from public access until 2011 and promoted a focus on 'living in harmony'. As a result, Harmony Day was introduced, within multicultural policy, to re-centralise a singular and unifying notion of Australian-ness. Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s (DIAC - an Australian government department that existed between January 2007 and September 2013) Diversity and Social Cohesion offered following two aims:
Aim 1: to promote respect, fairness and a sense of belonging for Australians of every race, culture and religion. The aim primarily focuses on promoting inter-community harmony and understanding.
Aim 2: Develop the community capacity building skills of specific community groups under significant pressure due to their cultural, religious or racial diversity. This aim primarily focuses on supporting specific communities with the purpose of building their social cohesion capacity and/or to promote their positive contribution to Australia.
Harmony Day is represented by an orange ribbon, and Australians are encouraged to wear orange due to connotations of social communication, freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect.
Australia is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showing that 29.7% of Australia’s population is born overseas. Parramatta is an incredibly diverse city as 50% of Parramatta residents are born overseas and 52% speak a language other than english at home. Harmony Day presents an opportunity for all Australians to come together to celebrate great achievements and core Australian values.
The continuing message of Harmony Day is 'Everybody Belongs' and its annual observance aims to encourage inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural background.
Neera Sahni, Research Services Leader, Parramatta Heritage Centre, City of Parramatta, 2022
References:
- Brice, Priscilla (March 19, 2014). "The origins of Harmony Day may surprise you".
- Chiu, O (March 20, 2017) The Real Story Behind Harmony Day: How John Howard Depoliticised Anti-Racism, retrieved on 12/03/2021
- The Australian (11 March 2011) "Living in harmony a mixed blessing", retrieved on 12/03/2021
- "From multiculturalism for all Australians to Australian multiculturalism" from press-files.anu.edu.au, retrieved on 12/03/2021
- Jakubowicz, A. (November 23, 2011) "Racism, anti-racism campaigns and Australian social research: a case study in recovering socially-useful knowledge", retrieved on 12/03/2021
- Lauren. "Beyond harmony: rethinking intercultural learning for Australian primary schools" (PDF), retrieved on 12/03/2021
- Peatling, Anne Davies and Stephanie (December 13, 2005). "Australians racist? No way, says Howard". The Sydney Morning Herald, retrieved on 12/03/2021
- Spinks, Harriet (March 20212) Harmony Day – a celebration of cultural diversity, retrieved on 12/03/2021
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmony_Day, retrieved on 12/03/2021
- https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/migration-australia/latest-release, retrieved on 12/03/2021