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Harmony Day (March 21) is an Australian Government program that revolves around the message, "everyone belongs", reinforcing the importance of inclusiveness to all Australians.
Started in 1999, to coincide with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, it's marked by people coming together and participating in local activities.
Schools, pre-schools and child care facilities hold all sorts of Harmony Day activities and children are encouraged to wear orange clothing and/or the distinctive orange ribbon.
The theme for Harmony Day 2016 is "our diversity is our strength" Australia's cultural diversity inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging.
Get involved
Whether you're a family, child care organisation, employee or business owner, it's not too late to take an active role in Harmony Day – both for Harmony Day itself and on an on-going basis.
For Harmony Day:
- Wrap orange ribbons around public buildings, classrooms or other areas in your local area
- Turn your lunchbox orange… oranges, mandarins, carrots, orange cheese, curried chicken…
- Bring a cultural dish to work or school – celebrate your own family's culture and heritage
- Organise a harmony day picnic or BBQ in your local park
- Plant a harmony tree in a public park or garden with a plaque to celebrate your community's diversity (you need to ask your local council for permission)
- Organise a harmony poem, painting competition or even a play for school children
- Ask children to design a harmony postcard – these could be displayed at school, child care, community centre, library
- Find out about the multicultural make-up of your business and celebrate with diversity in your workplace with a multicultural morning tea or lunch
Whatever you do on Harmony Day, join the conversation on social media by posting photos, selfies and activity online, using #harmonyday.
Ongoing activities
- Organise regular cultural-themed lunches where each person brings a dish from a different country. You can assign colleagues with a different letter of the alphabet – they have to come up with a dish from a country of that letter
- Don't forget to share your 'food selfies' on social media sites
- Start a multicultural book club at home school or at work
- Take cultural dancing or music lessons like belly dancing
- Organise a cultural quiz or Diverse Drinks
- Sign up for language lessons with a friend, family member or colleague
Ideas to teach your kids about cultural diversity
- Kids love stories, so talk to your children about your family history and heritage.
- Show old photographs of family members or talk about how they came to be in Australia.
- Look at a map to show them the different countries that make up their ancestry.
- Look at videos online that show different countries and cultures (e.g. traditional dances, food, music).
- Read multi-cultural story books together to learn about different children's lives.
- Explore the traditional Indigenous owners of your region – find out about their culture online or at your local library.
- Visit your local library and look at books about different cultures.
- Explore different cultural arts and have an arts and crafts session with your children, like Indigenous dot painting.
For local Harmony Day events and lots more ideas for parents, teachers and employers, go to www.harmony.gov.au/celebrate
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