HARMONY WEEK

Harmony Week celebrates multiculturalism and the differences that make us all so unique. It promotes respect, inclusivity, and a sense of belonging for everyone.

This year we celebrate Harmony Week from the 20th to the 26th of March 2023, with Harmony Day being officially celebrated on the 21st of March. Every year there’s a theme to help further unite everyone. The theme for Harmony Week 2023 is: “Everyone Belongs”. The traditional colour of Harmony Day is Orange.

What is the History of Harmony Week?

Harmony Week was first celebrated in 1999, to help celebrate Australia’s diversity and promote a sense of acceptance and inclusivity.

Australia has an incredible history of multiculturalism. There are many different Indigenous Australian languages spoken across Australia today. However, many people still face racism. Whilst Harmony Week is a celebratory event, it also serves to campaign against discrimination.

The day itself marks an important date, as today, the 21st of March is the International Day for the Elimination of Racist Discrimination. Whilst Harmony Week is a uniquely Australian event, it coincides with global efforts for the promotion of equality and inclusivity, centring on Harmony Day.

What Does Harmony Day Mean?

Though the whole week provides space for us to celebrate multiculturalism and diversity, you’ll often find many organisations focusing particularly on Harmony Day. But what does Harmony Day mean? Simply put, it’s a day for us to come together and celebrate all of our differences and diversity in Australia as well as across the world. Australia has a rich and varied culture, but we can’t ignore the racism and cultural discrimination that is part of our history.

On Harmony Day, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures in particular are a focus point for discussions and celebration.

Harmony Day is a great opportunity to educate others on the value and importance of other cultures such as these. The event as a whole encourages us to continue to build bridges between the many wonderful cultures and ethnicities that make Australia what it is today.

This Friday 24th all students at St Ita’s can wear something Orange to help celebrate harmony week. There is no cost involved just an opportunity to celebrate our cultural diversity within the St Ita’s community.

At St Ita’s we are a learning community that operates under a Whole School Approach to Positive Behaviours which consists of 5 pillars;

1. Respect for one another
2. Inclusiveness of all
3. Compassionate to the needs of others
4. Building our resilience to work through tough times and hardship
5. Working in teams to support one another.

At St Ita’s we have zero tolerance for racism or racist bullying, and everyone in our learning community has a role to play in naming it and calling it out if and when it happens. We want all our students to understand what racist bullying is and how we keep it out of our school community. The information below provides examples of what racist bullying can look like and what we can do to help educate and coach our kids to stop it from happening.

WHAT IS RACIST BULLYING?

• Can be physical, verbal or emotional
• May happen online via mobile phones, email, social media and games
• Frequently making casual offensive comments about a minority group
• Making jokes that use racial and/or religious stereotypes
• Offensive graffiti
• Ridiculing, tormenting, threatening or making fun of physical attributes (such as skin colour, hair or facial features), customs, religion, food, accents, language, cultural or religious dress or music, or migration history
• Making comments that imply that a person is not “Australian”
• Refusing to socialise, work or co-operate with others because they are from a different cultural or linguistic background
• Making judgements about a person’s ability or values based on their accent, language or cultural background
• Religious abuse or vilification.

IMPACTS OF RACIST BULLYING

Racist bullying can have a big impact on the person who is being bullied. It can make them feel confused, ashamed, rejected, fearful or embarrassed. It can also have a big impact on how safe they feel at school, and if they even want to go to school. Even if you are not directly involved, seeing and hearing racist bullying can have a negative impact on you and the whole school community.

PREVENTING RACIST BULLYING – MAKING A DIFFERENCE

To prevent racist bullying happening in our school, we can:

• Remember that your experience of living in Australia might be different to other students’ experiences
• Respect and learn about the different cultures and religions within and around your school community
• Be kind to everyone including people who may come from a different culture or country to you
• Read your school’s bullying prevention and student engagement policy, and suggest any changes you think will make a difference
• Be an upstander. Be an upstander and not a bystander When you hear or see racist bullying, it can be difficult to call it out, but when one person stands up to bullying it encourages others to do the same. Most students admire people who stand up for someone being bullied. There are lots of things you can do to be an upstander. Upstanders can:
• Be a friend to the person being bullied
• Interrupt the bullying by shifting everyone’s attention away from the bullying.

For example, you can do this by:

• asking the target of the bullying for their help with something or asking them to come and sit with you
• distracting your friend if they are doing the bullying.
• Leave the situation and then think about what you can do to help.

This can include:

• supporting the target of the bullying to ask for help from a teacher, the school counsellor or the Wellbeing Coordinator
• telling a trusted staff member or your parent/carer about what happened.

Calling out racist bullying can be hard but if it’s safe, step in and tell the person doing the bullying that their behaviour isn’t okay and that they should stop. Don’t call the other person a bully – comment on their behaviour, not the person. E.g. ‘That was a mean thing to say.’

What if you have said or done something you think might be racist bullying?

When you think you have done or said something that may be racist bullying, ask yourself:

• Did I use unkind words?
• Did my words or actions put someone down?
• Was I trying to feel powerful or seeking the approval of my friends?
• Even if I thought it was funny, would other people agree?

If you think your words or actions were racist bullying, there are steps you can take to avoid hurting someone’s feelings in the same way again.

• Tell the person you are sorry. (Remember that people who feel hurt sometimes won’t be ready to accept your apology but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try
• Make a conscious effort not to be involved in racist bullying again
• If you see or hear any bullying, including racist bullying, be an upstander not a bystander.

We all have a role to play in making sure Racist Bullying is not a part of the culture of who we are at St Ita’s Primary school.

Andrew Osler

St Ita's Principal