Harmony Week celebrates multiculturalism and diversity in Australia – a time to share our cultural heritage, practices, beliefs, identities and languages.
To celebrate Harmony Week, school communities can unite and promote inclusion. We can lead our communities in the appreciation of difference, respect for each other and promote this with messages of belonging.
Furthermore, Harmony Week can be a time for us all to reflect on what racism is and what we can all do to stand up, educate and combat it.
Harmony Week includes 21 March, which is the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This is traditionally called Harmony Day and takes its date from the Sharpeville massacre that took place during a civil rights event in apartheid South Africa in 1960.
The world observes this date as the day freedom from racial discrimination should be acknowledged and maintained as a human right.
As educators, we are charged with the responsibility of not only marking this day as a celebration but also as a dedication to promoting anti-racism, equity and inclusion within our schools and the wider community.
From the oldest continuous culture of our First Nations people to the cultures of our newest arrivals from many countries around the world, Australia is a vibrant, multicultural land. We should celebrate this and work together to promote the message of harmony – Everyone Belongs!
Visit these links to plan how your school can celebrate Harmony Day 2021:
- www.harmony.gov.au/
- www.harmony.gov.au/get-involved/schools
- www.harmony.gov.au/events/harmony-day-events
- www.harmony.gov.au/events/calendar
- education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/multicultural-education/culture-and-diversity
- education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/multicultural-education/culture-and-diversity/calendar-for-cultural-diversity/planning-harmony-week
Wear orange, plan Harmony Day events and share your day with us by sending in your photos to [email protected] or by posting them on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and tagging them @TeachersFed.