Harmony Day is a day to embrace and uplift the diversity within Australia, with an event on campus at UNE planned to celebrate.
Every year on the 21st of March, Australia recognises and celebrates cultural diversity with Harmony Day, and the extended Harmony Week. This year Harmony Day falls on a Tuesday.
To celebrate you can wear orange, or organise an event with your friends, family, or workplace.
Australia is hugely diverse. As of the 2021 census, 27.6% of the Australian population was born overseas – that’s just over 7 million people. Over 70 indigenous languages are still spoken in Australia today, including the New England region’s local language Anaiwan.
Like the rest of Australia, Armidale has a strong diverse and multicultural community, with many migrant and refugee groups. The University of New England also has a large number of international students, many of which live in Armidale. To celebrate that, UNE is running a Harmony Day event on the evening of the 21st. Students can enjoy a $10 dinner from the Orange Duck, and a showing of the Saudi Arabian drama film, Wadjda.
Written and directed by Haifaa al-Mansour in her feature directorial debut, Wadjda follows a young Saudi girl as she tries to earn money to buy her dream bike so she can race her friend Abdullah. Wadjda is the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia, as well as the first feature length film made by a female Saudi director.
For anyone wishing to organise their own Harmony Day event, harmony.gov.au has resources to help plan and advertise it. You can also register your Harmony Day event with them.
Harmony Day will be observed on the 21st of March, with UNE’s event for students running from 6pm that night on the Armidale campus. This event is for UNE students only, but they are encouraged to bring friends and family members.
You can find more information on UNE Life’s Facebook page, or head to harmony.gov.au to learn more.
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