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Things to remember when planning your event

These are some of the things you may want to consider when planning your Harmony Day event.

  • Who is your intended audience?
  • How can you best involve them?
  • What will they get out of this event?
  • What message do you want them to take away from the event?
  • How will you let them know what's on?

Creative ideas for your Harmony Day celebrations

There are many ways that you can celebrate Harmony Day. It just depends on how you want to bring people together in your school, community or organisation.

What do you want to do that celebrates the vibrant cultures, races and religions that make up Australian society?

Some favourite activities are:

  • Sport, dancing and eating – play world sports together and involve everyone, learn new dances from countries across the world, or enjoy the foods of different cultures
  • Arts and crafts – use your creative abilities to make something that symbolises the different cultures of your local community. You could even hold a poster or art competition.
  • Music and sounds – apply your musical talents to reflect your experience of different cultures or traditions. Rhyme and rap to a story about culture and experience. You could hold a concert for everyone to enjoy.
  • Talk it up – meet someone new from your class, school or community and learn about their culture. Do an oral history project by interviewing someone from a different country and share it with others. You could write, record or even film the interview.
  • Listen and learn – invite someone who has migrated to Australia to come and share their story and culture with your class. You could even research more information about their story or write about your own.

Australian Sports Commission

This Harmony Day, the Diverse Australia Program is working with the Australian Sports Commission to promote the 'All Cultures' resource. The resource assists the sports industry to encourage people from culturally diverse communities to get involved in sport.

Useful information to engage communities in sport includes:

  • how to involve women, girls and youth
  • how to promote multicultural programs
  • communication tips for coaches and teachers
  • video interviews with sporting teams and athletes
  • tools to help schools and clubs connect with their communities
  • multicultural and spoting contacts.

For more information about the resource visit the Australian Sports Commission website.
See: Australian Sports Commission – All Cultures

Red Cross Y Challenge – celebrating diversity

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has partnered with the Australian Red Cross to create the Y Challenge – celebrating diversity program.

Y Challenge – celebrating diversity gives teachers and parents ideas and activities to help young people learn about how mutual understanding leads to respect and acceptance in Australia's culturally diverse society.

The program, designed for young people 9 to 17 years, is supported by a manual, online activities and resources for teachers, parents, individuals and groups on topics such as written and spoken communication, drama, art, storytelling and critical thinking.

The program also provides guidance for young people to develop a community project that focuses on building relationship between people from different cultural backgrounds.

Visit the Red Cross Y Challenge website for more information and to register for the program.
See: Y Challenge

Australian Multicultural Foundation – Managing Cultural Diversity Training Program

The Diverse Australia Program is working with the Australian Multicultural Foundation for Harmony Day 2010.

In 2008, the Diverse Australia Program funded the Australian Multicultural Foundation for the Cultural Diversity Pilot Training project. The project developed and piloted the Managing Cultural Diversity resource which assists businesses to develop strategies to overcome real or perceived barriers to implementing cultural diversity management practices.

The resource, which was piloted in 60 businesses, includes a comprehensive manual for trainers and a participant workbook. Modules can be run either as stand alone short training sessions or as a full course over several days.

Visit the Australian Multicultural Foundation website for more information on the manual and workbook or to order a copy.
See: Australian Multicultural Foundation – Managing Cultural Diversity Training Program

Certificate of Appreciation

A Certificate of Appreciation is available for you to give out for participation in your Harmony Day event.
See: 2010 Certificate of Appreciation (750 KB Word file)