Harmony Day (21 March) has been a fixture on the Australian calendar for more than 25 years. But behind the pledge for tolerance is a need for connection.

It’s hard to miss the bright orange festivities that accompany Harmony Day – often Harmony Week – in Australia, but did you know that it is actually based on the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination?

Admittedly, ‘IDERD’ is far less catchy than ‘Harmony Day’, which is what former Prime Minister John Howard was banking on when he initiated the first Harmony Day in 1999. But the It’s a Small World implication of the word ‘harmony’ hides the work needed to address racial discrimination at its core.

In its stead we see the pleasing multicultural veneer of photos from the event that feature children in attire relating to their ethnic heritage and office workers sharing foods from their culture. But it is understanding, rather than tolerance, that should be the aim of multiculturalism, and that cannot be achieved by an international buffet alone. Instead, spending quality time with people and identifying the values we share goes a long way towards eroding perceptions that may contribute to racial discrimination. It also helps strengthen the ties that bind community.

I’m not saying a cup of tea will solve this. But I often think about Les Frémissements Du Thé (2014), a short film by Marc Fouchard that was shortlisted for an Academy Award some years ago, in which a French skinhead is invited to drink tea with a Muslim shopkeeper. The film is based on an event that happened in England.

Says Fouchard: “Instinctively, Malik is ready for a fight. But he identifies himself with the young man. He sees himself when he was young: explosive, bold, rowdy, a bit lost… But he’s wiser now. He knows that nothing good comes out of violence.”

Put the kettle on and watch it here, then tell me whether tea might be a good way to move past mere tolerance and onto connection. And may your Harmony Day be free from racial discrimination.

This article originally appeared in AUSTCS enews 12 March 2025.