Harmony Day 21st March 2007
Harmony Day falls on 21 March and coincides with the United Nations’ International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Harmony Day 2005 is a time when all Australians come together to celebrate community harmony and this country’s cultural and linguistic diversity.
It provides Australians with the opportunity to get to know each other by promoting our community’s success as a multicultural society, recommitting ourselves to respect, goodwill and understanding between all Australians of all backgrounds and saying no to racism.
Everyone is encouraged to take part in the celebrations and to show their support for community harmony.
In the Northern Territory the Office of Multicultural Affairs (Department of the Chief Minister) provides grant funding to schools, community organisations and local government councils for harmony based activities throughout the month of March.
Every year the MCNT marks Harmony Day with an event in celebration of community diversity, unity and tolerance. This year, Harmony Day was showcased by school children, government, and more than 500 organisations and communities from across the Northern Territory.
Ron Mitchell, the MCNT’s Settlement Grant Program officer, convened Harmony Day and put his networking skills into overdrive to draw communities and people into the Harmony Day celebrations. MCNT opened its doors on Friday 23rd March to the public to enjoy the Northern Territory’s cultural and linguistic showcase of multicultural diversity.
The evening was launched by the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, the Hon. Delia Lawrie with a feast of entertainment from the Liberian Cultural Dancers, Bernadine Krute, and Phil O’Brien. The highlight of the evening was the launch of the Nhulunbuy Rotary Club’s Harmony Day micro-film promoting community harmony for public consumption on television. Nhulunbuy Rotary Club received a grant from the Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Citizenship to produce a series of three short videos.