In a global context, recent events around the world and at home necessitate an open public debate on multiculturalism and to form effective strategies for community engagement with this issue. Oft times, even within the Community Services Sector, many organisations are increasingly regarding ‘multiculturalism' as being solely related to issues regarding non-English speaking migrants and refugees. This interpretation and use of ‘multiculturalism' not only denies the role of English speaking migrants, residents and citizens, but also fails to acknowledge the important contributions that Indigenous peoples play in the construction of effective multiculturalism. Indeed, alienating English speakers and Indigenous peoples by denying them a place within concepts of multiculturalism, may serve instead to reinforce the ‘us and them' mentality amongst some members of the wider community, in which the somewhat ignorant ideologies of assimilation and total conformity to mainstream ‘Anglo' culture is a goal.

multiculturalism_-myth_to_reality.pdf |