This week, Northern Health celebrates Cultural Diversity Week and Harmony Day.

Harmony Day is held every year on 21 March, to coincide with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The message of Harmony Week is “Everyone Belongs” and it promotes inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of their cultural or linguistic background.

With more than 50 per cent of Australians either born overseas or having at least a parent born overseas – this is a week to celebrate the cultural diversity of our country.

As far as Northern Health is concerned, this cultural diversity is prominent amongst patients, staff and volunteers.

Henni Wade, Manager of Volunteer Services, explained that, “Northern Health volunteers represent 23 birth countries and 25 per cent of our volunteers speak another language. We very much appreciate the diversity they bring to our team. Volunteers who can speak another language can make a real difference to the experience of our patients.”

David Le, Manager of Transcultural and Language Services (TALS), says, “One in five appointments are conducted with a patient from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background with the assistance of an interpreter. This demonstrates how culturally diverse the Northern Health catchment is and our commitment to provide equitable and inclusive care.”

For Natalia Dewiyani, Spiritual Care Coordinator, being able to hold a sacred space for a rich and diverse group of patients, family and staff is a true honour.

“It is a beautiful and enriching experience. I am privileged to work with staff who strive to meet the different cultural, spiritual, and/or religious needs of our patients. We can all learn from each other’s perspectives, traditions, and experiences,” she said.

This year, Harmony Day brought with it a renewed sense of celebration and unity, marking a significant milestone, as we gathered in person for the first time since the onset of the pandemic.

Displays were set up at Northern Hospital Epping, Broadmeadows Hospital, Bundoora Centre, Craigieburn Centre, and Kilmore Hospital. Staff from various departments worked together on the displays and this was also an opportunity to collaborate with a local childcare centre and a local school. The Green Leaves Early Learning Centre in Craigieburn donated a beautiful painting made by the kindergarten children. The children worked collaboratively to create a Harmony masterpiece that was displayed at  Northern Hospital Epping during the Harmony Day celebration.

St Monica’s College in Epping also donated a poster made by Year 7 students. The students chose orange, the official colour of Harmony Day, as the background and added hearts and flowers. This masterpiece was displayed at Bundoora Centre.

The Northern Health library has put together a display focusing on Culturally Safe Care (see attached photo) and resources can be found via the e-library: https://nh-au.libguides.com/home

Henry’s Café and Café 1231 have special menus this week, highlighting Cultural Diversity and international foods. click here to view Henry’s menu and here to view Cafe 1231 menu.

Staff were encouraged to wear something orange or their traditional costume on Harmony Day, to go into a draw to win a prize, by sending a photo of their team effort to TALS Enquiries by Friday, 22 March. The winning team will be announced on Monday, 25 March.

Kilmore District Hospital hosted a Cultural Awareness afternoon tea on Monday, 18 March and invited staff to attend an online education session on Cultural Competence delivered by Education and Engagement Manager, Stefania Zen. The presentation focused on Cultural Competence in Health Care and the importance of delivering effective, quality care to patients who have diverse beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviours.

“It is about recognising that we are all different, even within the same culture,” said Stefania.

On Wednesday, 20 March, the Northern Health Community Choir performed in the main foyer of Northern Hospital Epping, and on the same day, a new episode of the ‘Visiting Hours’ podcast was released, featuring Dr Fidel Touma who talked about his migration journey and what it was like to start a new life in Australia.

This morning, staff embraced the celebration and attended a live performance at Northern Hospital Epping by the Little Town North Cyprus Dancing Group. The performance was opened with a speech by Chief Allied Health Officer, Jason Cirone, who talked about how cultural diversity enriches us as a health service and as a community, and was followed by a morning tea, which included a variety of delicious traditional Turkish pastries.

Other gatherings during the week included the celebration of Nooroz, a secular cultural festival observed by diverse communities, including Iranians, Kurds, Azerbaijanis, Central Asians and others. Based on the Iranian Solar Calendar, Norooz/Noruz is the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The first day of Norooz festivity this year was 20 March, and the Transcultural and Language Services (TALS) team celebrated this event with traditional Persian food, provided by their lovely Persian Interpreter, Zoreh Karimi.

As the vibrant colours of cultural diversity adorned the corridors of Northern Health today, Harmony Day showcased the power of unity in embracing our differences, because today and always, we all belong!

Pictured in featured image: Staff from the TALS Department.