Australia is one of the most multicultural countries because it is a nation which its background was built by people from over 200 different countries and by the aboriginal people. The top 10 countries that Australians have migrated from are:
The UK
Ireland
Scotland
Italy
Germany
China
Greece
The Netherlands
India
Liban
The Aborigines
The aboriginal children were taken from their parents and were forced to assimilate with white rural and urban communities and they were marginalized, exposed to new diseases which resulted in a depopulation and extinction of some aboriginal tribes.
To that action, Aborigines called it ‘THE STOLEN GENERATION’- Australia is one of the few countries with the most unfortunate reputation in the world for having killed particular tribes of the Australian Aboriginal population.
Aborigines made some civil rights movements in the 70s where they spoke out for equal rights(more properly - land rights). Although the australian government only gave benefits to aborigines in the 90s, giving them a great degree of autonomy, and increased wages and welfare benefits.
Some problems still remaining, such as Chronic health problems including:
Alcohol abuse, drug use, malnutrition, discrimination, police brutality, rape, and assault are regular issues the average Aboriginal population face on a daily basis.
Aborigines developed unique instruments and folk styles. The didgeridoo is commonly considered the national instrument of Australian Aborigines.
The multiculturalism in Australia is not only about the different races but also about its religion, spoken languages... Besides English and Indigenous Languages, German, Italian, Greek, Cantonese, Spanish are spoken in Australia too. Even Portuguese is spoken by 25 thousand people.
They have, at least, fourteen different religions, being the largest one the Roman Catholic.
The principles of multiculturalism
The principles of multiculturalism are expressed in the eight goals of the National Agenda:
1. All Australians should have a commitment to Australia and share responsibility for furthering our national interests.
2. All Australians should be able to enjoy the basic right of freedom from discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion or culture.
3. All Australians should enjoy equal life chances and have equitable access to and an equitable share of the resources which governments manage on behalf of the community.
4. All Australians should have the opportunity fully to participate in society and in the decisions which directly affect them.
5. All Australians should be able to develop and make use of their potential for Australia’s economic and social development.
6. All Australians should have the opportunity to acquire and develop proficiency in English and languages other than English, and to develop cross-cultural understanding.
7. All Australians should be able to develop and share their cultural heritage.
8.Australian institutions should acknowledge, reflect and respond to the cultural diversity of the Australian community.
Sources:
http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrália
http://www.aboutmalta.com/grazio/multiaustr.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia#Culture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australians
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Australia
And I liked your work/post too haha :D
You have to buy a didgeridoo to me. if i get mad, i'll kick you with that haha