A Taste of Harmony

MERYL NAIDOO | March 21, 2012 09.54am

RHH staff members from left, Hayyani Jasmin of Sandy Bay, Carly Williams of Montrose and Anila Drew of Hobart

EMBRACING multiculturalism in the workplace and raising awareness in the community is the focus of A Taste of Harmony, with more than 200 different nationalities represented in Tasmania.
The top five nations for refugees in 2009-10 were Bhutan, Myanmar, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Sudan.
The top five nations for non-refugees in 2007-08 were Britain, New Zealand, China, India and South Africa.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics also estimates that in 2006, 30 per cent of Tasmanians had one or more parents born overseas and about 3 per cent spoke languages other than English at home.
The languages most increased in number between 1996 and 2006 were Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Tagalog (Philippines) and French.
The Royal Hobart Hospital is one of the local organisations taking part in this year's event, having enjoyed a successful multicultural lunch at their cafeteria last year.
"We found A Taste of Harmony was one of the most popular days for the cafeteria," refugee migrant liaison officer at the hospital Jenny Forward said yesterday.
"We will be celebrating the diverse range of culture again by preparing a multicultural menu of Indian, Italian, Morrocan and Chinese dishes," she said.
The Harmony hospital cafeteria will be open to the public and staff on Friday.
Judith Sweet is the Tasmanian ambassador for A Taste of Harmony.