This March come celebrate Harmony Week with your community at YPRL!
Harmony week is a 2 week long celebration of Harmony Day with all sorts of different events at various YPRL locations. Harmony Day is an annual holiday in Australia introduced by the federal government. This celebration began in 1999, coinciding with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21.
One in four of Australia’s 26 million people were born overseas.
Harmony week is all about celebrating this rich cultural diversity.
Harmony Week is a celebration of our different backgrounds, different cultures and different experiences. Our diversity is one of our great strengths. We are one nation and we are all Australians.
YPRL is hosting events and activities for you to join in the celebrations and learn about other cultures!
If you're looking for something to read during Harmony Week, we suggest you check out our selection of multicultural biographies.
We also have resources available for loan in 18 community languages across our branches.
Some of the events you can expect to see during this time include:
'Undefeated' - Professional Migrant Women on 14th March 6-7PM at Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub.
Come meet the authors and hear the stories of the women who contributed to the new book: Undefeated: 90 migrant women, 118 journeys.
Speakers are local residents of Banyule. Copies of the book will be on sale on the night!
Feng Shui Workshop on 16th March 10.30-11.30AM at Eltham Library.
Create health, harmony and prosperity in the Chinese Year of the Water Rabbit. Personalized tips and remedies for a successful year with Salwa Abboud from 'Effortless Living'.
Some excellent books to accompany you with this event:
Yang Sheng : the art of Chinese self-healing
Chinese Astrology: forecast your future from your Chinese horoscope
Virtual Reality Travel on 16th March 2PM-3PM at Lalor Library.
Take your parents back home, or show the kids where their heritage began with Virtual Reality technology! Book in for a session of exploration and fun by traveling overseas while you are still in Lalor. Up to four people may attend in the one booking and slots are limited!
The Virtual Reality Travel event will run over different days in case you were not able to secure a booking. These dates are: 20th March 7PM-8PM & 23rd March 5PM-6PM.
Salsa Dancing Workshop on March 17th 3:30-5PM at Lalor Library.
Learn how to dance the salsa and the merengue! Add a few new dance steps to your moves with staff member Cris as you dance the afternoon away. Then come along to our Latin performance on Saturday 25 March at 1.30pm and try out your new moves with a crowd!
Indian Holi Festival on 19th March 2PM-4PM at Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub.
Enjoy traditional Indian dancing and hear Indian songs in traditional and Bollywood styles. Learn about the significance of Holi in Indian life. Afterward, light refreshments will be served in the library.
You might like to learn about Indian culture before attending. Try this free streamed video:
or this delightful travel adventure:
Henna Art with Namra on 21st March 4.30-6.30PM at Diamond Valley Library
Get your own temporary henna tattoo with Namra from Henna Artist Melbourne. Namra will also give a short talk about the significance of this ancient art, which is a symbol of good health and prosperity in marriage.
Harmony Hands Activity on 21st March running all day at Lalor Library
Decorate a paper hand in the colours of your cultural heritage, then you can leave it at the library for us to display during Harmony Week. We will also have a world map display where you can place a pin to show the many places members of our community have come from!
Learn a Language: Online Resources on 22nd March 2PM-3PM at Lalor Library
Would you like to learn a new language? Come try our online resources and browse books and CDs from the collection. We will also have information about language classes at our branches and community language schools.
Somali Storytime on 22nd March 2PM-4PM at Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub
Develop your child's literacy skills in the Somali language with this storytime session. There will be stories, rhymes, simple activities and dances, all told in Somali! Suitable for children under 10 years old.
Indian Cookery Demonstration on 23rd March 6.30PM-8PM at Watsonia Library
Vasundhara Kandpal, Founder and Managing Director of Green Karma, will take us on a Indian cooking experience, demonstrating traditional veggie pancakes, dahl, and vegetable korma. These three dishes are appropriate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, giving you ideas for an entire day of vegetarian Indian meals!
Explore our collection to spice up your cooking:
Tarkari: vegetarian and vegan Indian dishes with heart and soul
The nutmeg trail: a culinary journey along the ancient spice routes
Masala: Indian cooking for modern living
Asian Cooking with Jean on 23rd March 7PM-8.30PM at Mill Park Library
Enjoy a cooking demonstration, tastings and recipes with Jean from Jean's Asian Cooking. Jean is a former restaurateur, food consultant, recipe developer/taster and cooking instructor.
The Greenbrook Singers and Those Epping Ukes on 24th March 11AM-11.30AM at Mill Park Library
Celebrate Harmony Week with a performance by the Greenbrook Singers and their back-up ukuleles!
Multicultural Moments on 25th March 10AM-2:30PM at Lalor Library
This multicultural celebration will include cooking demonstrations, performances and storytimes. Our local community groups will share a passata demonstration, cultural cooking, and performances. We will have Arabic, Spanish and Italian storytime as well as as multicultural crafts for the kids. The finale will be a Latin themed performance with Marceau Camille. Dust off your frills and dance along to the music or just sit and relax and watch the show. Drop in for one performance or stay for the whole day!