WA's primary and secondary school students sign harmony ribbon

20/7/99

A very pleasant piece of schoolwork is waiting for Western Australia's primary and secondary school students, returning this week from school holidays.
One of their first assignments will be to pledge support for Australia's culturally harmonious community - by signing a three-metre section of orange harmony ribbon.
Citizenship and Multicultural Interests Minister Mike Board said the Harmony Ribbon project was giving young Western Australians the opportunity to put their names where their hearts were.
"Young people in this State are definitely showing us the way in racial tolerance and valuing our cultural diversity," Mr Board said.
"They set us a strong example by accepting a wide variety of cultural values and promoting the strength that our community gains from that diversity.
"It is very fitting that they have the opportunity to put their names to such a strong symbol of harmony, which we hope will be seen by all the world as a pledge for harmony by our whole community."
Once all sections of the ribbon have been signed and returned to the Office of Citizenship and Multicultural Interests they will be sewn together into a three-kilometre long orange harmony ribbon.
The full-length ribbon will be presented to SOCOG as a unique symbol of WA's strong commitment to Australia's culturally diverse society. It is hoped that the ribbon will be displayed at Stadium Australia during the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
The Orange Harmony Ribbon project had its origins in the March 1995 launch of the Government's multicultural policy WA ONE by Premier Richard Court. In October 1997 the three-year Living in Harmony strategy was introduced to promote the benefits of good citizenship and the orange ribbon was launched as a positive symbol for community harmony.
Following the success of WA's first National Harmony Day celebrations in March this year, Education Minister Colin Barnett pledged his support for the State-wide initiative and requested schools throughout WA receive a three metre long section of the ribbon for teachers and students to sign.
Media contact: Jody Robb 9222 9211