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Australian multiculturalism: What is it and how does it differ to that of other countries

by Voula Messimeri, FECCA, April 2006

Multiculturalism as a systematic and comprehensive policy response to cultural and ethnic diversity has been adopted by two countries: Australia and Canada. The term multiculturalism originated in Canada, where it referred to the 1971 Trudeau Government's official programs of cultural maintenance. The official Canadian policy was called 'multiculturalism within a bilingual framework'. It was a response to the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism between 1963-69. Even though there are some subtle similarities between Australian and Canadian multiculturalism, the differences between the two are more obvious.

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