Multi-Culturalism: The Present State And Impact In Australia

Description of the present state of the cultural and linguistic diversity in Australia

Write an essay on Multi-Culturalism.

Multi-Culturalism has become the most important aspect in today’s world. The more the world is heading towards globalization, the more the nations are getting integrated, and people of almost all the nations across the world are adapting each other’s culture and ways of living. Thus, it seems unity in diversity is gradually gaining the due significance.

The society of Australia is one of the most diverse societies of the world that comprises of the diverse races and cultures from various corners of the world. The extent of educational and economic development has attracted people to settle down in Australia. Thus, Australian society is considered as the microcosm of the entire world; where the people are able live harmoniously irrespective of the cultural, racial and linguistic diversities.

Within Australia itself, the diversity of cultures and languages is diverse more than 22 million Australians form the population of the continent, speaking more than 300 languages. Thus, it becomes evident, how much the extent of the Australian diversity is being increased by the additional incorporation of the various races from The current state of Australia shows that the Australia, although being such a diversified country has been able to maintain successfully the stability in the society. And this stability has been possible even in today’s context only because of the acceptance of this diversity by the Australian government and the people of the continent and also the faith in the concept of diversity that it will enrich prosperity and enduring strength to the country. The Australian government and the support policies provided by the government to the migrants help in bringing the people together and assist in the development of the community spirit among the diverse communities. Right from the post war era, the government of Australia has offered settlement support to the emigrated population of the country, through the avoidance of the social tensions and by reinforcing the importance of the cultural, economic, and other needs of the entire population of the world. Thus, all such programs and many other policies that are implemented by the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) have increased the cohesion among the diversities in the country as well as the continent.                                                                                                                                                                       Introduction of various programs such as The Diverse Australia Program that was launched by the DIAC on 28 January 2009 aimed at the promotion of equal participation of the Australians in every field, irrespective of any culture, tradition or language. It also promoted that entire population of the country should get the opportunity to equally share the rights and responsibilities by properly understanding them, thereby participating very actively in a multi-cultural society. The Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia, which is one of the most important governmental organizations of Australia, is assisted by the government in order to promote multiculturalism in the country, by advocating and facilitating the participation and inclusion of the newly emerging communities. The Australian government has made strong commitments in helping the newly arrived migrants and refugees to participate in the community programs. Besides, such developments, the government is also improving upon various aspects to enrich the diversity of the continent through a varied set of programs and policies.

The social, political and economic issues and their impact upon Multiculturalism and cultural diversity and vice versa, (Australia Context)

The citizenship structure of Australia has been the most important aspect of the Australian society in linking and integrating the various portions of the world. Around 3 million of people and may be more than that have acquired the citizenship of Australia since 1949, that provided them with the facilities of enjoying the democracy of the country, the right to votes and seek election in the parliament as well as many other educational privileges have been made available to the government.

Migration had posed a positive influence upon the economic, social and political aspects of Australia. Migration has also led to specific changes in the infrastructure of the Australian society. It is true that migration has led to the increase in the labor force or the low cost workforce in the country, however at the same time the inclusion of more and more people from diverse nations have caused increase in the demand of food, clothing, shelter, electrical appliances and provisions for proper housing. This again poses a pressure upon the economic conditions of the country. But this pressure upon the economic conditions of the society has been balanced by the skills and the labour brought to the country by the migrants. This has also facilitated the enhancement of the trade and economic relations among the countries of the immigrants and Australia. The labour and shortage of skills and suitable abilities in the country of Australia have been mitigated by the arrival of the immigrants; they have brought their knowledge and technological talents that have become a very vital portion of inclusion in the nation’s economic progress.

Consequently, this economic growth of the country has resulted in the progress of the society , many programs and policies are being launched by the government of the country that assist the achievement of self sufficiency among the immigrants of Australia. As and when the economy of the Country became strong, simultaneously, it contributed towards the growth of the society as a whole, including the thoughts and opinions of the individuals. This development of the social and economic aspects leads to the enrichment of the cultural aspects.

The immigrants are now also allowed by the Australian government to enter into active participation in political matters, they are allowed to vote freely after gaining the Australian citizenship and are also allowed to seek election in the parliament, thus, they can enjoy freedom and democracy in Australia. Australian society at the present era has many active policies and programs in order to deal with the increasing multiculturalism. Since 1970s, the government for dealing with the matters of settlement undertook the multicultural policies that aimed at the settlement of the migrants under proper environment and security. Since the 1990s, the multicultural policies and strategies that have been undertaken aimed always at the development of the nation along with the prospects of multiculturalism.

Multiculturalism became the most important policy in the country of Australia that was devised by the government to render a positive response towards the rising ethnic and cultural diversity of the Australian society. The policies that had posed some limitations on the assimilation and immigration of the people from various parts of the word had been abolished in the 1960s. The policies that were adopted in the 1940s and 1950s required the individuals coming from various other countries to acquire the knowledge of English language in order to cope up with the country’s terms and conditions and to become indistinguishable from the Australian population of the country. However, by the 1960s, the policies became much liberal and they were aimed mainly at solving the differences faced by the migrants and at the assimilation and successful integration of the migrated people along with enabling them to retain and respect their own traditions and national identities.

The policy of Multiculturalism had been introduced for the first time in Australia in a 1973 speech that was entitled “A Multi-Cultural Society for the Future”, the speech was delivered by the Minister for Immigration under the Whitlam Government. Since this declaration about the prospects of a multicultural Australian society in the future, the Galbally Report was introduced that recognized the rights of all the Australians to retain their culture and identities, equalities and opportunities, both the migrants and the Australian-born. In 1978, following the Galbally report, there occurred a shift in the policies of the government, this shift actually led to the expansion of the services, like teaching of the English language to the, provision for the attainment of educational qualifications overseas, etc.

The Australian policy on Multi-Culturalism is contained in the 1989 National agenda that aimed at the establishment of a Multi-cultural nation and unity in diversity. This multi-cultural policy embodied in the National Agenda called for an equal treatment of the individuals and consideration of all the individuals as the Australian citizens after granting them the Australian citizenship. The policy offered equal rights to all the Australians in terms of social justice, economic sufficiency and regarding other political issues. One of the main features of the multicultural policy that was formed in the year 1989 was that it placed much emphasis upon the utilization of the resources of all the Australians. This enabled the realization of the mutual benefits among the population of the entire country of Australia.

The Multiculturalism policy of Australia helped in realizing the aims of the country. The educational policies were upgraded and the. The policy aimed at making the children of the migrants equipped with the advanced pedagogy. The policy also encouraged the recognition of the minority language. Therefore, it becomes evident that the Multicultural policy adopted by the Australian government has made the development of the nation possible. The government of Australia has taken several steps to foster and secure the enrichment of the nation, as like Canada, Australian government has recognized the importance of strengthening a nation by giving respect and identity to the migrants of the nation and their culture and traditions. The Australian Multicultural Advisory Council that was launched in the year 2008 by the Minister of Immigration in Australia was another policy that was undertaken by the government of Australia. The council members of this Advisory council underscore the consideration of the diversity in Australia and attempt to promote the same. Thus, in consideration to the above-mentioned cases regarding the policies and programs that were and are being undertaken by the government of Australia portray the following strengths and weaknesses of such measures:

The programs and the policies that are launched in Australia in favor of the immigrants of the nation illustrate the manner in which the migrants and their interests are safeguarded in a foreign nation. The multiculturalism policy and the other policies of Australia that have been mentioned welcomed the differences and the diversity of various cultures and races.

The tendency of a country’s government to imbibe and secure the protection and development of the people who migrate from their homeland to a foreign nation bring prosperity to that country. This is because the nation-state becomes able to harness the qualifications and the talents of the immigrants and implement the same in the activities of various fields ultimately causing the progression of the country. On the other hand, the mutual interaction between the migrants and the Australian-born nationals would also help in receiving the mutual benefits. The diversities in the workplace would enable the workforce integrate themselves with each other and learn from each other, thereby enhancing each other’s skills and talents. Unity in diversity can easily be achieved through such multiculturalism and its policies.

One of the advantages that the immigrants in the country of Australia have received is the presence of English as a common language that enabled the easy communication among the people and understanding of each other’s needs. The educational facilities that are often provided by the Australian government are in favor of the immigrants to equip themselves with the proper English language so that they can communicate and deal with the natives or the nationals of the country.

Although the policies and programs that had been undertaken and are being undertaken by the government of Australia in order to assist the newly arrived migrants and advocate the concept of the unity in diversity in the country, the attempts or such policies may face tough challenges in the process. The indigenous community of Australia or those who are staunch believers in the culture and tradition of their own nation may opine against such policies advocating multiculturalism and diversities of culture and language. They may feel that their tradition and culture may be hampered by the intrusion of the foreign immigrants.

On the other hand, despite the fact that the government has taken many attempts to incorporate and amalgamate the diversities, the migrants may not secure a protected environment and opportunities or realize the aims for which they have emigrated, they may face adversities and difficulties in coping up with the natives of the place as many reports say that often students and other individuals who migrate from their native place to a foreign land, they often face harassments from the natives of that foreign land, sometimes the immigrants are exploited by various means and treated badly. In other cases, the emigrated population may very frequently take undue advantage of the facilities and privileges or of the programs and policies that they may be provided with in the foreign land.

 On the other hand, the programs and the policies as mentioned above that have been undertaken by the Australian government may not always prove to be beneficial for the immigrants, as all of them may not receive the privileges and remain deprived of them, thereby not being able to fulfill the aspirations which have brought them the foreign nation. In order to make the multiculturalism as a successful policy, the private organizations should come forward to reduce the monopoly of the government to prevent pervasiveness in the society. Above all, the general public should peacefully accept multiculturalism as a policy for recognizing and managing ethnic or cultural and linguistic diversity.

The theories underlying the concept of multiculturalism are the theories of Multiculturalism and Cultural Diversity. Multicultural ideologies and those of cultural diversity vary largely in this world according to the difference in conceptions of various countries. Multiculturalism and cultural diversity both refer to the existence and acceptance of varied cultural traditions, heritage, languages, customs, religion and other factors within a particular territorial jurisdiction. It involves advocacy of paying equal dignity to all such diversities within a single land, so that people hailing from different communities feel safe in a foreign land and are properly addressed by the authorities of that nation or state. Therefore these theories are closely related to the politics of difference and politics of recognition that clearly denotes the recognition of various differences by a single nation, thereby promoting diversity.

Conclusion:

Thus, it has become evident that Australia like Canada and Sweden encourages the incidence of multiculturalism and has increased the scope for building a multi-cultural country with cultural, linguistic and racial diversities. Australia has very well recognized the significance of enriching unity in diversity through the creation of community spirit and paying amalgamation of all the cultures and races coming from various parts of the world. 

References:

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