MCCI shines a light on diversity this Harmony Week

In the city this Harmony Week? Don't miss the orange-lit lighthouse.

For the third year in a row, the Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra (MCCI) is illuminating Wollongong Harbour Lighthouse to showcase the region's rich history of migration and encourage conversations about how we can work towards a more inclusive and harmonious society.

The lighthouse is symbolic as it brings us together and helps us navigate, move forward and overcome challenges.

MCCI is asking people to share pictures of themselves with the lighthouse and tag #MCCIHarmony #EveryoneBelongs

Also marking Multicultural March is a new social media campaign celebrating names from all over the world. The organisation has asked its staff to share the stories behind their names and posted their replies on its Facebook page.

“To celebrate the wonderful diversity of names, we present to you 31 short name stories from MCCI staff," said executive operations manager Sarah Wilson.

"Name discrimination is a well-known problem. By giving a glimpse into the rich history of names and how they were chosen, we hope to encourage people to reclaim their names."

On Sunday, MCCI shared Kyoko Shiratsuchi's story:  "My name is Kyoko Shiratsuchi. It means Apricot Child. The apricot tree is strong, my parents wish that I grow up strong. My shortened name is Kyo-chan, honorific chan is used for girls. Foreigners sometimes struggle with pronouncing Kyoko so they shorten it to Kay."

Contact MCCI for more information – visit www.mcci.org.au