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fiona hou

Multiculturalism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views

  • The term multiculturalism generally refers to the acceptance of various cultural divisions for the sake of diversity that applies to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the scale of an organization such as a school, business, neighborhood, city or nation.
  • Australia The response to multiculturalism in Australia has been extremely varied, with a recent wave of criticism against it in the past decade. An anti-immigration party, the One Nation Party, was formed by Pauline Hanson in the late 1990s. The party enjoyed significant electoral success for a while, most notably in its home state of Queensland, but is now electorally marginalized. One Nation called for the abolition of multiculturalism on the grounds that it represented "a threat to the very basis of the Australian culture, identity and shared values", arguing that there was "no reason why migrant cultures should be maintained at the expense of our shared, national culture."[83] A Federal Government proposal in 2006 to introduce a compulsory citizenship test, which would assess English skills and knowledge of Australian values, sparked renewed debate over the future of multiculturalism in Australia. Andrew Robb, then Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, told a conference in November 2006 that some Australians worried the term "multicultural" had been transformed by interest groups into a philosophy that put "allegiances to original culture ahead of national loyalty, a philosophy which fosters separate development, a federation of ethnic cultures, not one community". He added: "A community of separate cultures fosters a rights mentality, rather than a responsibilities mentality. It is divisive. It works against quick and effective integration."[84] The Australian citizenship test commenced in October 2007 for all new citizens between the ages of 18 and 60.[85] In January 2007 the Howard Government removed the word "multicultural" from the name of t
  • The response to multiculturalism in Australia has been extremely varied, with a recent wave of criticism against it in the past decade. An anti-immigration party, the One Nation Party , was formed by Pauline Hanson in the late 1990s. The party enjoyed significant electoral success for a while, most notably in its home state of Queensland , but is now electorally marginalized. One Nation called for the abolition of multiculturalism on the grounds that it represented "a threat to the very basis of the Australian culture, identity and shared values", arguing that there was "no reason why migrant cultures should be maintained at the expense of our shared, national culture." [83] A Federal Government proposal in 2006 to introduce a compulsory citizenship test, which would assess English skills and knowledge of Australian values, sparked renewed debate over the future of multiculturalism in Australia. Andrew Robb , then Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, told a conference in November 2006 that some Australians worried the term "multicultural" had been transformed by interest groups into a philosophy that put "allegiances to original culture ahead of national loyalty, a philosophy which fosters separate development, a federation of ethnic cultures, not one community". He added: "A community of separate cultures fosters a rights mentality, rather than a responsibilities mentality. It is divisive. It works against quick and effective integration." [84] The Australian citizenship test commenced in October 2007 for all new citizens between the ages of 18 and 60. [85] In January 2007 the Howard Government removed the word "multicultural" from the name of t he Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, changing its name to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
xinning ji

Singapore: Multiculturalism or the melting pot? | geraldgiam.sg - 0 views

  • Multiculturalism can be defined as a demographic make-up of a country where various cultural divisions are accepted for the sake of diversity. A melting pot, on the other hand, is a society where all of the people blend together to form one basic cultural norm based on the dominant culture.
    • xinning ji
       
      we always define Multiculturalism as the country with diverse cultures , but it seems hard to achieve in many multicultural countries, like Singapore, Australia, America etc. I think reasons could relate to politics, one particular/dominant culture and social bias. they all bring imbalance and unequal norms that against the value of multiculture, and so that to strength one main culture and igore others.
xinning ji

Fiesta Malaysia in Melbourne on Sept 27 - 0 views

shared by xinning ji on 14 Sep 09 - Cached
  • showcasing Malaysia's cultural and ethnic heritage.
  • Malaysia's cultural and ethnic heritage.
  • biggest Malaysian student cultural show
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  • Fiesta Malaysia Melbourne
  • We have also invited the Mayor of Melbourne and the Victorian State Minister for Multiculturalism
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    i know this is not an educational reading but it's good if you can come to the fiesta and witness whatever they have to offer. the venue is not at Federation Square but it's at Queensbridge Square, Southbank.
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    showcasing Malaysia's cultural and ethnic heritage.promote Malaysia through arts, culture, traditional dances, cuisine, exhibition and tourismMayor of Melbourne and the Victorian State Minister for Multiculturalism
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    for more info visit http://www.fiestamalaysia.com/
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    Malaysia and Australia have some similarities for multiculturalism. a country with diverse cultural backgrounds will face up to challenges and difficulties on the mutual understanding and social equality. So communication and learning from each other is important and necessary.
Yair Frid

YouTube - Whopper Virgin Documentary (Full) - 0 views

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    Very interesting small documentary.
Christoph Zed

Terrorists in the Making?: Egypt Pursues Europeans Taking Arabic Classes - SPIEGEL ONLI... - 0 views

  • It is not the first time the Egyptian security service claimed to have rounded up a cell of jihadist European students.
  • After just over a week of questioning, they were deported. There was no evidence. Back in Europe authorities saw no reason to hold the students.
  • the Egyptian security service often keeps surveillance on specific foreign students at the request of European secret services.
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  • The West often accuses Egypt of being a breeding ground for fanatics, but in actuality we are getting extremists from Europe.
  • Agents treat the foreign students who are arrested terribly." He says this has an adverse effect. "This way you create an enemy you might not have had before."
Christoph Zed

Terrorists in the Making?: Egypt Pursues Europeans Taking Arabic Classes - SPIEGEL ONLI... - 0 views

  • Many deeply religious students from Europe come to Egypt to learn Arabic. The question is: are these European Salafists coming to study the language of the Koran or to prepare terrorist attacks?
  • Young men with downy beards, caps, kneelength a traditional Arab galabeyas and sandals sat chatting in a McDonalds' restaurant in Nasr City, a large middle class district in the eastern part of Cairo.
  • In the neighborhood Egyptians, the European Salafists - Sunni religious fundamentalists - are outsiders.
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  • Ashraf, a 26-year-old Dutchman of Moroccan descent, came to Cairo a year ago. "To learn Arabic," he says, "the language of my religion."
  • "We aren't hurting anyone," says Ashraf, whose apartment was recently searched. "We only come to study and pray."
  • "Religious fanatics want to be taken seriously," says Walid al-Gohari, founder and director of the Al-Fajr institute, one of the many language schools in Nasr City. "But Salafists who don't even know Arabic are not considered credible."
  • The Egyptian security service is concerned about the situation. It therefore keeps a close eye on fundamentalist visitors with a European passport.
  • As a precaution, the security service picked up hundreds of foreign students in a few days time, among them a few from the Netherlands.
Christoph Zed

BBC NEWS | Europe | Bhajis and cricket balls in Brescia - 0 views

  • This is the San Polo municipal football ground on the outskirts of Brescia - a big industrial city in the north of Italy home to one of the biggest south Asian communities in the country.
  • The attraction is cricket - the final rounds of a limited overs competition.
  • "It's not a good place to live", he says. "Most Italians only speak their own language and so - unlike Indians and Pakistanis - they don't mix well with people from other cultures."
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  • the place could benefit from a "multicultural mix-up"
  • The League is almost invariably described as xenophobic
  • there have been complaints about cricket in the parks; and, yes, it has been banned, with local police ordered to halt games
  • "I want to see more Italian kids take it up," he adds. "Cricket can help build links between the Italian and immigrant communities - and help us avoid some of the problems we've seen in the past."
  • He is a politician - a pragmatist who simply can no longer afford to ignore the demands of his hometown's large south Asian community. And in this case pragmatism - it would seem - might just be the best way to start building a better life for everyone.
Nora Ibrahim

channelnewsasia.com - Singapore cuisine showcased at Selfridges Foodhall in London - 0 views

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    I just thought of sharing this piece of news since half of the journals in our course readers involves food and how it does (or doesn't?) represent a culture or country. Singapore just like Malaysia is interesting and different because of its multiracial and multicultural citizens.
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