Over 120 Curtin professional and academic staff and students from Curtin’s Bentley and international campuses attended a discussion panel and lunch last week on Closing the Gap, Eliminating Racial Discrimination and the ‘Harmony Day’ debate: recognising March 21, organized by a working group of Curtin’s CALD Reference Group.
March 21st marks the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, a day for global solidarity against racism and discrimination. In Australia, this date is known somewhat controversially as Harmony Day. The name may divert the focus from recognizing discrimination to celebrating cultural and racial. This year in Australia, Close the Gap Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness of inequalities experienced by First Nations Peoples, coincided with March 21st. This provided an opportunity for reflection on discrimination and its effects across a range of diversities.
Prof Farida Fozdar said “One of the pressing questions of our shared global future is the rights of First Nations peoples and how to eliminate the discrimination they and other ethnic minorities continue to experience. It was fascinating to hear the different perspectives on the value of these days, experiences of interpersonal and structural discrimination and their impacts, an international campus, and student, perspectives, and possible approaches to eliminating discrimination. We hope this could become an annual event.”
The panel was facilitated by Prof Anthony Langlois, the inaugural Stan Perron Dean of Applied Ethics, and consisted of Mr Fred Yasso, Director, Centre for Aboriginal Studies; Prof Shamit Saggar CBE, Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success and former UK government advisor on multiculturalism and social cohesion; Dr Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes, Centre for Human Rights Education; Prof Vincent Lee, Deputy PVC, Curtin Malaysia; Bustanul Arafin, Guild Postgraduate President; and Prof Farida Fozdar, Sociology, Dean, Global Futures (Humanities), Chair (Curtin CaLD Reference Group, DIBC).
