Australia has always been a land of opportunity. A place of promise where people from across the world have flocked to create new lives for themselves and their families.
Australia is home to the oldest continuing cultures in the world. First Nations peoples have cared for these lands for over 65,000 years, shaping the rich and diverse country we live in today. As we celebrate Harmony Week, we honour their deep cultural knowledge and ongoing contributions.
As a nation, we now speak more than 250 languages and identify with more than 300 different ancestries. More than half of us were born overseas or have at least one parent that was.
It’s this rich cultural diversity that has made Australia the place it is today.
Harmony Week, which continues until March 23, is a time to celebrate and champion our cultural diversity and this year’s theme, ‘Everybody Belongs’, couldn’t be more fitting.
Harmony Week is a time to reflect on who we are and what we want to become. This celebration of diversity has never been more relevant in the face of global political uncertainty and millions of displaced people fleeing conflict zones.
At Uniting Vic.Tas, we celebrate and champion diversity. It’s deeply ingrained in who we are and what we do.
As the community services organisation of the Uniting Church, the ethos of the church towards equity and inclusion is at our heart, valuing the dignity and rights of all people, supporting them through every stage of life.
Our staff and volunteers reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. We embrace people of all backgrounds, cultures and faiths, speaking up for people who feel they don’t have a voice.
Through our multicultural and settlement support services in Melbourne, across regional Victoria and in Tasmania, we put these values into practice every day helping asylum seekers, new arrivals and those with refugee backgrounds to find their feet.
There is so much we can all do to foster greater harmony, to build stronger and more meaningful connections with one another and to reduce social isolation without our own communities.
This week is all about inclusiveness, respect and creating a sense of belonging for everyone so they feel supported and welcome.
We encourage everyone to join us in embracing diversity, equity and inclusion and working to remove barriers for marginalised communities.
