Moving beyond food, fashion and festivals during Harmony Week
Violet Roumeliotis AM
Executive leader and advocate for equality and a diverse Australia.
In the lead up to Harmony Week this week, I was contemplating the evolving meaning of this celebration. I was fascinated to find the word harmony is actually derived from the classical Greek word harmonia — meaning a joint between the planks of a ship or a joining of those planks?
Harmony Week began life as Harmony Day in 1999 as a local alternative to the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Over time, it has become an occasion for community to come together with events and activities that celebrate Australia’s social cohesion and multiculturalism.??
My family is deeply connected to Australia but, as members of the Greek diaspora, we are also connected with our Greek heritage. We speak the language, we carry on ancient traditions like the cutting the vasilopita on New Year’s Day to bless our house and bring good luck for the year ahead.??
Importantly, we also carry with us the stories and experiences of those who have come before us.?
My life has been significantly influenced by my parents’ migration experience. As a child, I remember visiting my dad’s village on the island of Chios and being bewildered by the lack of running water and electricity. As an adult, all I can do is appreciate the foresight that saw my parents leave behind their homeland to seek a better life for my sisters and me.?
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Our identity as Greek-Australians goes deeper than obvious markers like language and food. It is imbued within all aspects of our identity — cultural, spiritual, political.?
That capacity to live with and appreciate an array of beliefs, cultures, and perspectives is a thing of great value, but it is not something we should take for granted.??
During Harmony Week, we must approach our neighbours with curiosity that goes deeper than food, fashion and festivals. These are just the tip of the iceberg — culture extends well below these attributes we see at the surface.?
Since the advent of this celebration, we have come a long way towards being a united, multicultural Australia. During Harmony Week, I encourage you to continue that progress by meaningfully engaging with people from different backgrounds and getting to know one another beyond the obvious cultural cues.?
Cross cultural Psychologist | Diversity Trainer Law Enforcement | Diversity Round table case analysis facilitator | Strategic thinker Self Employed
1 年Thanks for posting this Violet Roumeliotis AM . Our communities , our stories and our experiences are far more than food dance and dress . Having just returned from my ancestral homeland only a few days ago, I again have been imbued with the essence of what makes me so grateful to say I am Australian Lebanese . Yes these visible cultural cues are just the tip of the beautifully complex iceberg xxx ????