A usually quiet courtyard, tucked away in a part of RMIT that is reminiscent of a castle, is where the Harmony Day celebrations came to life last Thursday.
Nationwide celebrations took place on the 21st of March, with Australia being one of the most diverse countries in the world, and Melbourne being a cultural hub, RMIT University provided a perfect location for its students to celebrate and learn.
The motto for the day was ‘everyone belongs’ and the message was well and truly felt as a small group of choir children entered the courtyard, singing a song of peace. Led by RMIT’s senior Chaplain, Fr Richard Murray, he began the day with a meaningful message of welcome.
We won’t survive as richly if we are apart
After the opening, he gave further comment and urged the message that “Harmony Day is based on the idea that RMIT is here to serve everyone, regardless of where you come from or what you believe in.
Harmony involves working together, and working with people of different backgrounds. We won’t survive as richly if we are apart. We are people of all faiths, and of no faith. We’ve sung about it here today, and now we’ll think about it”
“Our main faiths here at RMIT are Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist among many others, and it is our job here at the spiritual centre to make sure that students understand that their faith is part of their experience at RMIT” said Fr Murray.
RMIT University’s cultural groups had a presence on the day as well, with the Italian Society luring crowds with free pizza.
Anthony D’Angelo, president of the Italian Society, re-established the group in late 2012 when he noticed there had not been an Italian society active at RMIT since 1984. He expressed how important it was for him to make sure different cultures had groups and societies at their University, not just for its members, but for any student interested in learning more about different cultures: “Our main aims are to spread our culture and traditions – and the food! But you don’t have to be Italian to join, everyone is welcome!”
The importance of events like Harmony Day in Australia are highlighted by the following figures:
- Over 45% of Australians are born overseas or have a parent who were
- We identify with over 300 different ancestries and
- Around 7 million people have migrated to Australia since 1945
Harmony Day Video provided courtesy of Jim Goffin
