Happy Harmony Week!

This week is the annual celebration of Harmony Week when we celebrate Australia’s vibrant and multicultural community. Multiculturalism is a fact of life in all countries and Australia is no exception. The 2022 celebration coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21^st.

Since 1999, more than 80,000 Harmony Week events have been held in childcare centres, schools, community groups across Australia. The core values of Harmony Week include: inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background.

You may notice more of the colour orange around. This colour was chosen by the Department of Home Affairs to represent Harmony Week. According to their website, ‘Traditionally, orange signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect.’

We are proud to have so many cultures represented in our centre and if you have a story or tradition to share we would love to hear about it. Our cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths and is at the heart of who we are. As a community, these traditions have enriched the lives of the children in our centre and allow for a deeper awareness of the world around them.

Some fascinating facts about cultural diversity in Australia:

• nearly half (49 per cent) of Australians were born overseas
• In the 2016 census over 300 ancestries we identified
• since 1945, more than 7.5 million people have migrated to Australia
• 85 per cent of Australians agree multiculturalism has been good for Australia
• After English, the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Tagalog/Filipino, Hindi, Spanish and Punjabi
• More than 70 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia
  (Data sourced from The Department of Home Affairs, 2022)

Harmony Week is about celebrating diversity in our community and the impacts of this on the early upbringing of children includes our youngsters accepting of people of all races and cultures.

Reading is a fabulous way to start conversations about diversity and linguistics with young learner. In 2020 The National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature introduced Australia’s first database of culturally diverse children’s books. Books play an important role as mirrors for children: these stories and characters will affect how they see themselves and the world around them. In a community as diverse as ours, it’s vital that we offer children an opportunity to see realities and experiences different from their own.

Some incredible stories to look at include:

• I’m Australian Too, by Mem Fox
• I Love Me, by Sally Morgan
• First Day, Margarete Wild
• In the City I See, Tori-Jay Mordey
• Archie and the Bear, Zanni Louise