By Clyde Mooney
March 19-25 will see the fourth big year of the Scanlon Foundation’s campaign, A Taste of Harmony, to celebrate cultural diversity in Australia’s workforce.
With one in four workers here born overseas, A Taste of Harmony promotes the fact that cultural diversity can give businesses a competitive edge.
Research by supporters, the Australian Multicultural Foundation (AMF) and Robert Bean Consulting, established that cultural diversification can benefit businesses by making them more efficient, better at innovation, problem solving and idea creation.
Hospitality and food service operations are especially affected, with people born overseas regularly making up a percentage of both staff and customers.
Around the country, chef ambassadors from venues and restaurants are donating their time to the campaign in recognition of its importance to menu diversification.
The campaign invites workplaces to register for A Taste of Harmony, with National Harmony Day to take place on Wednesday, March 21.
Staff members are encouraged to bring a lunch dish that represents their cultural background or one with which they are familiar, for an environment conducive to diversification and understanding.
The campaign began in 2009, and has grown consistently to see more than 175,000 Australians participate in 2011.
Click here to register.