HARMONY Day - a day to celebrate the cultural diversities that help make Australia the country it is - will be marked around the nation on Monday, March 21.
Managed by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), Harmony Day, with the theme Everyone Belongs, is an opportunity to celebrate what makes each Australian unique while sharing what we have in common as human beings, irrespective of race.
Speaking at the Harmony Day launch in Sydney last month, parliamentary secretary for immigration and citizenship Senator Kate Lundy said Harmony Day was "an opportunity for all Australians to reflect upon and be proud of what each person brings to our great nation and to remember that everyone belongs".
"Since its inception in 1999, Harmony Day has grown in popularity with communities across the nation embracing our nation's diversity," Senator Lundy said.
Embracing and promoting diversity is JJ Stranan, of Cleveland, who is passionate about multiculturalism.
JJ owns and operates Global Kids Oz ? a Cleveland-based small business that supplies multicultural teaching aids to educational facilities, including schools and child care centres.
A self-confessed "first generation Kiwi", JJ said the mixed heritage she was born with made growing up "a bit confusing" for her, as she was never quite sure which nationality to call herself.
"Mum was Lithuanian and Dad was Canadian with Chekoslovakian heritage," she said.
"We had no other family in New Zealand and while our friends went to their grandparents' homes for Christmas, we never had that."
JJ said she started travelling at 16, with a five-year trip to Asia followed by a further ten years travelling the rest of the world, visiting more than 35 countries and immersing herself in as many cultures as she could.
She also met her husband, "another Kiwi", in Thailand.
"I'm passionate about cultures and countries," she said.
"When I see racial tension, I wonder why it's there.
"We're all people and we all want the same things and I wonder why we're treating each other like that."
JJ encouraged people everywhere to celebrate Harmony Day and said it was an important day for bringing multiculturalism to the fore.
"We're a global community in Australia now and Harmony Day is about living in a harmionious way regardless of culture," she said.
WIN BOOKS: The Redland Times has five copies of My Granny Went To Market ? A Round-the-World Counting Rhyme by Stella Blackstone and Christopher Corr to give away, courtesy of JJ Stranan.
With bright and colourful illustrations complementing the rhyming text, the book is for children aged up to seven and tells the story of a grandmother who rides a magic carpet around the world, buying culture-specific items from each country she visits, including paper lanterns from China, cow bells from Switzerland and boomerangs from Australia.
To be in the draw to win a copy of this delightful book, write your name, address and daytime telephone number on the back of an envelope and send it to The Redland Times Harmony Day Competition, PO Box 191, Cleveland, Qld, 4163 or deliver your entry to The Redland Times reception desk at 135 Queen Street, Cleveland.
Entries close at 5pm on Wednesday, March 23, and winners will be notified by telephone.
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