Canberrans come together in harmony


Released 21/03/2018

Today is Harmony Day where Canberrans come together to celebrate cultural diversity and stand against racism and intolerance.  Canberrans can be proud of our community’s cultural diversity and our record of inclusiveness and openness in welcoming people from around the world.

The 2016 Census tells us more than one in four people living in the ACT were born overseas and about a third of Canberrans have both parents born overseas. Our community is proudly multilingual with more than one in five Canberrans speaking a language at home other than English, including Mandarin, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Hindi, Spanish and may more.

Australia celebrates Harmony Day on 21 March each year to coincide with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It is one of the many ways our community says no to racial discrimination.

The message of Harmony Day is ‘everyone belongs’ reflects our city and country’s proud record of welcoming people from across the world regardless of their race, faith, colour, sexual orientation or disability.

Canberrans are encouraged to wear orange today – the colour of Harmony Day and one that traditionally symbolises social communication and meaningful conversation, freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect.

The ACT Government is committed to ensuring Canberra remains a socially cohesive and inclusive place to live and that means actively culturally and linguistically diverse Canberrans to engage in the city’s social and economic life.

The Government’s ACT Multicultural Framework 2015-2020 was developed through extensive community consultation and has these key objectives: accessible and responsive services; citizenship, participation and cohesion; and capitalising on the benefits of cultural diversity.

Last year we established a new Multicultural Advisory Council to provide a platform for Canberra’s culturally and linguistically diverse communities to identify the issues that matter to them and have a direct conversation with government on those issues.

I look forward to working with the Multicultural Advisory Council to plan for a Multicultural Summit later this year.

I hope all Canberrans have a meaningful Harmony Day and continue to find new and innovative ways to show that ‘everyone belongs’.

- Statement ends -

Rachel Stephen-Smith, MLA | Media Releases


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