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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.

A DIPLOMATIC row between Australia and China

with Australia’s ambassador called to a dressing-down by China’s Foreign Ministry.

Vice-Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun told Mr Raby that Australia must ‘‘immediately correct its wrongdoings’’ and cancel Ms Kadeer’s visa

THE Melbourne International Film Festival has it all: dramas involving officials from foreign governments, larger than life characters sticking to matters of principles whatever the consequences and the struggles for liberation.

documentary about Rebiya Kadeer

subsequently three Chinese films were withdrawn.

Multinational corporations manufacture products in many countries and sell to consumers around the world. Money, technology and raw materials move ever more swiftly across national borders.

The term globalization encompasses a range of social, political, and economic changes. Within the section Defining Globalization, we provide an introduction to the key debates on this issue. The materials look at the main features of globalization, asking what is new, what drives the process, how it changes politics, and how it affects global institutions like the UN.

Cases of Globalization explore the various manifestations of interconnectedness in the world, noting how globalization affects real people and places.

London's and Riyadh's policies towards each other have been driven primarily by pragmatic considerations of political and economic advantage. Certainly religious and political issues of conviction, matters of pride and intercultural communication have, on occasion, come to the fore – such as King Faisal's decision to impose an oil boycott, the furore in 1980 over the documentary Death Of A Princes

s, or the often ill-informed British media commentary about the nature of Saudi politics. On their own, such issues tend not to reorient policy very significantly or for very long. Yet they do have the potential to complicate relations even when neither government wants them to.

A group of Aboriginal people has asked the United Nations to register them as refugees,

people of the Alyawarra Nation have been left with no choice because the federal intervention in the Northern Territory has taken away their rights.

The community was protesting about their living conditions, including broken septic tanks in their government-owned houses, and about intervention policies.

China understood the proposal was a multilateral issue that would be considered separately from the present difficulties besetting the Sino-Australian relationship .

Classes are expected to be cancelled at the University of Melbourne on Wednesday as staff walk off the job in protest of continued job cuts. Staff will hold a rally at 1pm (AEST) during a "24 hour strike" action planned by the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU). Union members at 16 universities across Australia will join them by launching similar actions at their schools.

The University of Melbourne is in the midst of a massive restructuring as part of its Melbourne Model campaign to align the school with the teaching practices of other institutions. Unions and some students have criticised the plan as it brings with it continued job cuts.

showcasing Malaysia's cultural and ethnic heritage.

Malaysia's cultural and ethnic heritage.

biggest Malaysian student cultural show

A dynamic music program is helping migrants connect to their new home

His experiences as a migrant give him the perspective needed to work with other newcomers."There's a system, and many people get trapped in that system," he says. "They put you in a housing commission flat when you first arrive as a refugee

I was battling a lot of things, like racism and stuff, and hip-hop helped me understand a lot of things about the government, about what happened back in Africa — it gives me more self-confidence to be here. So if I face racism I don't take it personally, I think, 'Maybe I need to educate you about some stuff.' "

CHINESE hackers have attacked the Melbourne International Film Festival website in an intensifying campaign against the screening of a documentary about exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer.

The hackers replaced festival information with the Chinese flag and anti-Kadeer slogans

"It is obviously a concerted campaign to get us because we've refused to comply with the Chinese Government's demands."

Charter 08

He feels a deep bond with people who are treated unjustly, he says, and he advocates on their behalf on the Internet, in police stations and in courtrooms, for which he has earned a reputation with the powers that be.

It revolves around his fifth, and most prominent, client in Fujian, the man who disappeared during the Olympic Games in Beijing almost a year ago, all because he had applied for a permit to protest in one of the "protest parks" the government had designated for that purpose.

how do we foster a sense of community for international students in the short time they are here? And in turn, how do we bridge the often unintentional divide that underpins their experiences?

High-density housing is deliberately geared towards the international student market, at the expense of a broader mix. Orientation programs for international students and local students often run at different times. International students pay the full cost for transport, while domestic students get half-price concessions. And at some institutions, separate queues and counters even exist.

With their proximity to Melbourne and RMIT, they give students few opportunities to venture out of their comfort zone, explore the rest of the city, and perhaps build new connections. Some have few communal spaces - not exactly conducive to interacting with life beyond the campus zone.