Event: Harmony Day
Come together with family and friends to embrace and celebrate our cultural diversity
On: Thursday, 21 March 2019
Harmony Day is held every year in Australia to coincide with the United Nation’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Australia is a vibrant and multicultural country — from the oldest continuous culture of our first Australians to the cultures of our newest arrivals from around the world.
Our cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths and is at the heart of who we are. It makes Australia a great place to live.
Harmony Day is a day to celebrate Australian multiculturalism, based on the successful integration of migrants into our community
We should celebrate this and work to maintain it.
Harmony Day is about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.
Facts and figures
There are some fascinating statistics about Australia’s diversity that can be good conversation-starters:
- Nearly half (49 per cent) of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was;
- We identify with over 300 ancestries;
- Since 1945, more than 7.5 million people have migrated to Australia;
- 85 per cent of Australians agree multiculturalism has been good for Australia;
- Apart from English, the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Tagalog/Filipino, Hindi, Spanish and Punjabi; and
- More than 70 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia.
These facts are taken from ABS 2016 Census Data. Check out the Australian Bureau of Statistics website.