A national day for anti-racism March 21 is the United Nations (UN) International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Since the 1990s, however, Australia has marked March 21 primarily as Day’. ‘Harmony There is an undoubted place for the celebration of cultural diversity and racial harmony in a multicultural Australia. But that should complement anti-racism, rather than subsume it – particularly on March 21. There is the risk that emphasising only positive messages about cultural diversity and multiculturalism can make it harder to start conversations about racism, a topic that many may deem to be too fraught or difficult to raise. It speaks volumes that many people in Australia, while aware of Harmony Day, are oblivious to how the day falls on the international day dedicated to the elimination of racial discrimination. Future work on anti-racism must consider how to reconcile the tensions between the current celebratory aspects of March 21 and its more sobering significance in international anti-racism. Given the international standing of March 21, established as it was in 1966 by the UN General Assembly, an alternative date should be explored for the marking of an Australian Harmony Day. Bystander anti-racism Since 2012, the Strategy has emphasised the importance of bystander intervention in acts of racism. As illustrated by the name of the Racism. It Stops with me campaign, we have sought to promote people considering their responsibility and ability to respond directly to racism. Bystander anti-racism is crucial in shifting attitudes and behaviours. It shifts the burden of dealing with racism away from targets of racism to the broader society. It the problem of racism one for all of us, rather than just for those who experience it. More specifically, it helps contribute to social norms which make racist behaviour unacceptable in society, and gives licence to people to take a stand against it. Recent have demonstrated a willingness by many Australians to intervene in acts of racial discrimination or hatred. Any future work should seek to maintain positive shifts in attitudes, behaviours and norms. Intergroup contact Evidence suggests a correlation between familiarity with cultural diversity and acceptance of it. Some of the areas that display relatively low levels of acceptance of cultural diversity are those with low levels of diversity in its population. Meanwhile acceptance of diversity appears to be higher in areas with relatively diverse populations.
A national day for anti-racism March 21 is the United Nations (UN) International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Since the 1990s, however, Australia has marked March 21 primarily as ‘Harmony Day’. There is an undoubted place for the celebration of cultural diversity and racial harmony in a multicultural Australia. But that should complement anti-racism, rather than subsume it – particularly on March 21. There is the risk that emphasising only positive messages about cultural diversity and multiculturalism can make it harder to start conversations about racism, a topic that many may deem to be too fraught or difficult to raise. It speaks volumes that many people in Australia, while aware of Harmony Day, are oblivious to how the day falls on the international day dedicated to the elimination of racial discrimination. Future work on anti-racism must consider how to reconcile the tensions between the current celebratory aspects of March 21 and its more sobering significance in international anti-racism. Given the international standing of March 21, established as it was in 1966 by the UN General Assembly, an alternative date should be explored for the marking of an Australian Harmony Day. Bystander anti-racism Since 2012, the Strategy has emphasised the importance of bystander intervention in acts of racism. As illustrated by the name of the Racism. It Stops with me campaign, we have sought to promote people considering their responsibility and ability to respond directly to racism. Bystander anti-racism is crucial in shifting attitudes and behaviours. It shifts the burden of dealing with racism away from targets of racism to the broader society. It the problem of racism one for all of us, rather than just for those who experience it. More specifically, it helps contribute to social norms which make racist behaviour unacceptable in society, and gives licence to people to take a stand against it. Recent have demonstrated a willingness by many Australians to intervene in acts of racial discrimination or hatred. Any future work should seek to maintain positive shifts in attitudes, behaviours and norms. Intergroup contact Evidence suggests a correlation between familiarity with cultural diversity and acceptance of it. Some of the areas that display relatively low levels of acceptance of cultural diversity are those with low levels of diversity in its population. Meanwhile acceptance of diversity appears to be higher in areas with relatively diverse populations.
NARPS_2018_FINAL.DOCX