Celebrating Australia's cultural diversity

Harmony Day events have been held around Australia as the world marks the United Nations Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Al Amanah school students celebrate Harmony Day.

Al Amanah school students celebrate Harmony Day. Source: SBS

At Al Amanah College in Sydney's west, year three students learned about life all over the world, without leaving the classroom.

"This is a sari and we usually wear it for special occasions."

"You use them to drum on special occasions like Eid."

"We celebrate the same things as in Australia but we celebrate them in different ways."

"Syria is my parents' and my family's country, and it's kind of nice to go there."

The day is a chance to learn about friends and their families.

Almost a third of Australians were born overseas; many more have parents of a migrant background.

Samaya Sahyouni, the Coordinator of Al Amanah College in Sydney's West, says Harmony Day is an important event on the school calendar.

"Their cultural identity is very important to them and they like to celebrate that, so today is a day about diversity."

It's a lesson of increasing relevance beyond the classroom.

23 million Australians have been born in 250 countries, with 270 different ancestries.

Australians speak 240 languages and belong to 120 different faiths.

Karima Al Shelh was born in Australia to Lebanese parents.

Her granddaughter is in kindergarten at Al Amanah College, where she spent Harmony Day teaching the kindergarten students about her background.

"It's important that the new generation need to learn that no matter what colour, what religion you are, we're all human beings."

Harmony Day has been celebrated for almost two decades and it's getting bigger every year.

This year, Al Amanah is one of hundreds of schools around the country, celebrating cultural inclusion.

 

 


Share
Published 22 March 2017 2:00pm
Updated 22 March 2017 2:42pm
By Camille Bianchi


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world