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Australasian Police Multicultural Advisory Bureau (formerly the National Police Ethnic Advisory Bureau) was an agency of the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs of the Government of Australia. It was established under the auspices of the Conference of Commissioners of Police, Australasia and the South West Pacific Region.
The impetus for the establishment of the Bureau was the 1990 National Conference on Police Services in a Multicultural Australia. The Conference outcomes recognised the need for an agency which would enhance the professionalism of police service delivery in culturally diverse societies through strategies based on communication, co-operation and consultation. Applicants must demonstrate a partnership with the community in the development and implementation of a project, event or activity. Newly settled and emerging communities, young people and prevention programs are a particular focus of the Mosaic Fund. It is consistent with a fundamental shift in policing strategies which emphasise the importance of partnership building between police and culturally diverse communities. These partnerships harness and build on the benefits of cultural diversity and further strengthen community cohesion and a commitment to a multicultural Australia.
The Awards have been set up to recognise police members, both sworn and non-sworn, who have contributed significantly to the development and advancement of partnerships between police and Australia's culturally diverse communities. The Awards aim to demonstrate, by example, the tangible benefits and positive outcomes of establishing harmonious relations between police and the multicultural community.
The Bureau has several publications dealing with multi-faith issues and social and governmental relationships in Australia.
A Practical Reference to Religious Diversity for Operational Police and Emergency Services covers oaths, Death, Gender Roles and Family, Physical Contact and sensitivities (like giving blood samples), Religious Practices and Policing and other topics covering twelve faith-traditions.
Policing in a Culturally Diverse Australia: Governing Principles, Recruitment from Ethnic Communities: National Statement of Principle, and Guidelines for Organisers of Cultural Events: Demonstrations and Marches are among its publications.
Mr. Ivan Kolarik, Executive Director of the National Police Ethnic Advisory Bureau, (winner of the 2003 Medal of the Order of Australia for his key role in changing the relationship between the police and Australia's Non English Speaking Background communities) lists a long and far reaching series of achievements of the Bureau. In a paper/opening address presented at the 2001 Policing Partnerships in a Multicultural Australia: Achievements and Challenges Conference he notes the " internationally acclaimed publication of ‘A Practical Reference to Religious Diversity for Operational Police’, production of a series of training packages called “Dealing with Racist Violence” under the auspice of 'Living in Harmony', active participation on steering committees for research projects, such as 'Ethnic Youth Gangs' in Australia and 'Multicultural Perspectives of Crime and Safety', development of “National Guidelines on Descriptions of Persons Issued by Police to the Media”, the leading role in research on “Collection of Ethnicity Data on Alleged Criminal Offenders” and the current study examining issues relevant to the retention of police officers from diverse backgrounds. And the list can go on. Over the years the Bureau has earned an excellent reputation with the international community. I am personally very proud of the fact that the Bureau served as a model for the “Rotterdam Charter for Policing in Multi-ethnic Europe”. In addition, the Bureau is considered as a best practice model by the police authorities in the Czech Republic and the People’s Republic of China." (OPENING ADDRESS
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, of political philosophy, and of colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchangeably, for example, a cultural pluralism in which various ethnic groups collaborate and enter into a dialogue with one another without having to sacrifice their particular identities. It can describe a mixed ethnic community area where multiple cultural traditions exist or a single country within which they do. Groups associated with an indigenous, aboriginal or autochthonous ethnic group and settler-descended ethnic groups are often the focus.
Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural decay. The phrase cultural diversity can also refer to having different cultures respect each other's differences. The phrase "cultural diversity" is also sometimes used to mean the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole. Globalization is often said to have a negative effect on the world's cultural diversity.
A minority group, by its original definition, refers to a group of people whose practices, race, religion, ethnicity, or other characteristics are lesser in numbers than the main groups of those classifications. However in present-day sociology, a minority group refers to a category of people who experience relative disadvantage as compared to members of a dominant social group. Minority group membership is typically based on differences in observable characteristics or practices, such as: ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. Utilizing the framework of intersectionality, it is important to recognize that an individual may simultaneously hold membership in multiple minority groups. Likewise, individuals may also be part of a minority group in regard to some characteristics, but part of a dominant group in regard to others.
Polyculturalism is an ideological approach to the consequences of intercultural engagements within a geographical area which emphasises similarities between, and the enduring interconnectedness of, groups which self-identify as distinct, thus blurring the boundaries which may be perceived by members of those groups.
An extracurricular activity (ECA) or extra academic activity (EAA) is an activity, performed by students, that falls outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school, college or university education. Such activities are generally voluntary, social, philanthropic, and often involve others of the same age. Students and staff direct these activities under faculty sponsorship, although student-led initiatives, such as independent newspapers, are very common. However, sometimes the school principals and teachers also bring in these activities in the school among the students.
James Jupp AM is a British-Australian political scientist and author. He is Director of the Centre for Immigration and Multicultural Studies in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University and an Adjunct Professor of the RMIT University in Melbourne. He is an Australian citizen and resident of Canberra.
Intercultural competence is a range of cognitive, affective, and behavioural skills that lead to effective and appropriate communication with people of other cultures. Effective intercultural communication relates to behaviors that culminate with the accomplishment of the desired goals of the interaction and all parties involved in the situation. Appropriate intercultural communication includes behaviors that suit the expectations of a specific culture, the characteristics of the situation, and the level of the relationship between the parties involved in the situation. It also takes into consideration one's own cultural norms and the best appropriate, comfortable compromise between the different cultural norms.
The Centre for Dialogue is an interdisciplinary research institution at La Trobe University. Professor Joseph Camilleri was the director of the centre from 2006 until 2013. The current director is Professor Alberto Gomez. The research centre specialises in the philosophy, method and practice of dialogue between communities, cultures, religions and civilisations. The key aims of the Centre include:
A Practical Reference to Religious and Spiritual Diversity for Operational Police is a publication of the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency.
Cultural dissonance is an uncomfortable sense of discord, disharmony, confusion, or conflict experienced by people in the midst of change in their cultural environment. The changes are often unexpected, unexplained or not understandable due to various types of cultural dynamics.
Jerzy Jarosław Smolicz AM was Polish-born sociologist and educationalist acknowledged widely as a major contributor to cultural understanding in Australia. A key figure in developing and implementing Australia's multicultural and language policies, he was a Senior Consultant on Multiculturalism to the Fraser government and for 20 years was Chair of the Multicultural Education Committee in South Australia.
Multicultural education is a set of educational strategies developed to assist teachers when responding to the many issues created by the rapidly changing demographics of their students. It provides students with knowledge about the histories, cultures, and contributions of diverse groups; it assumes that the future society is pluralistic. It draws on insights from a number of different fields, including ethnic studies and women studies, and reinterprets content from related academic disciplines. It is also viewed as a way of teaching that promotes the principles of inclusion, diversity, democracy, skill acquisition, inquiry, critical thought, value of perspectives, and self-reflection. This method of teaching is found to be effective in promoting educational achievements among immigrants students and is thus attributed to the reform movement behind the transformation of schools.
Anju Bhargava, a management consultant, was a member of President Barack Obama's inaugural Advisory Council on Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnership.
Criticism of multiculturalism questions the ideal of the maintenance of distinct ethnic cultures within a country. Multiculturalism is a particular subject of debate in certain European nations that are associated with the idea of a nation state. Critics of multiculturalism may argue against cultural integration of different ethnic and cultural groups to the existing laws and values of the country. Alternatively critics may argue for assimilation of different ethnic and cultural groups to a single national identity.
Multiculturalism in Canada was officially adopted by the government during the 1970s and 1980s. The Canadian federal government has been described as the instigator of multiculturalism as an ideology because of its public emphasis on the social importance of immigration. The 1960s Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism is often referred to as the origin of modern political awareness of multiculturalism.
Multiculturalism in Australia is today reflected by the multicultural composition of its people, its immigration policies, its prohibition on discrimination, equality before the law of all persons, as well as various cultural policies which promote diversity, such as the formation of the Special Broadcasting Service.
Joseph Assaf is an Australian businessman and expert in the field of communication to multicultural audiences. He became a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia in the Queen's birthday 2010 honor list for his work in this field. In 2014, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Australian Migration and Settlement Council and in 2018, was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to multiculturalism, and to business, as a supporter of community education projects for people from linguistically diverse backgrounds, and to cultural harmony and inclusion. He is also known for being the founder of the Ethnic Business Awards, and in 2018 celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Awards, recognizing the success against the odds of migrant and Indigenous in Australia's business landscape.
Gerodiversity is the multicultural approach to issues of aging. This approach provides a theoretical foundation for the medical and psychological treatment of older adults within an ecological context that includes their cultural identity and heritage, social environment, community, family system, and significant relationships. Gerodiversity encompasses a social justice framework, which considers the social and historical dynamics of privilege and inequality. In addition to issues of aging, gerodiversity includes race, ethnicity, language, gender identity, socioeconomic status, physical ability or disability, sexual orientation, level of education, country of origin, location of residence, and religion or spirituality.
Multicultural counseling is a type of counseling where the therapist addresses the struggles of a client who's race, gender, socioeconomic background, religion, or any other part of their identity doesn't fit in with the majority. Minorities have a history of dealing with racism and oppression, and in this lens, a counselor that doesn't take that information into account isn't able to effectively counsel. In the therapy session, the sociocultural environment of the individual and issues of power and privilege are given attention. This is a strengths based approach; counselors focus on positive change in both the process and the outcome.