The Australian Institute of Polish Affairs celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2011. From the very beginning the Institute formed a new modern Polish-Australian lobby focusing above all on publicising in Australia the spectacular achievements of Polish post-communist transformation. To celebrate the two decades of its existence AIPA published the special commemorating booklet. You may download […]
05
Jun
Confusions about Multiculturalism
Australian multiculturalism—a policy strategy aimed at facilitating effective social integration of non-British immigrants and managing cultural diversity—was devised in the 1950s and 60s, and adopted as government policy in the 1970s. As a number of recent publications in the European and Australian media suggest, this multicultural strategy has been misunderstood and confused with ethnic pluralism and assimilationist ‘melting pot’ approaches. These confusions, particularly widespread in Europe, mar public debates about multiculturalism. This is hardly surprising considering the scarcity of public clarifications of what multiculturalism is, the strong political backlash against uncontrolled migrations, and the paucity of informed debate about long term strategies of migrant settlement and adaptation. The paper outlines the principles of Australian multiculturalism, identifies its theoretical foundations, and highlights some of the popular confusions about its meaning, objectives and effectiveness.
11
Dec
Emigrants and their homeland. Polish-Australian society in the midst of change. Emigracja i Kraj. Polonia Australijska w Procesie Przemian
15-16/11/2012 Warsaw: Jan Pakulski gave a lecture at a sociology conference organized by the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN). The theme of the conference was ‘The social and cultural consequences of Polish migration’ (‘Społeczne i kulturowe skutki migracji z Polski’), the title of Prof. Pakulski’s paper being ‘Emigrants and their homeland. Polish-Australian society in the […]
07
Dec
‘Jan Karski’ – AIPA Event. Sydney,
29/11/2012 Sydney: Consulate General of the Republic of Poland, Woollhara The Polish Consulate General and AIPA jointly organized a commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the publication of the Polish Government’s official Note, dated 10th December, 1942, addressed to the Governments of the United Nations, alerting them to the mass extermination of Jews in German-occupied […]
01
Dec
“Was Poland different?” Address for Symposium “Why Poland?” – Krystyna Duszniak
Was Poland different? Krystyna Duszniak When I first began studying and writing about Polish-Jewish history, my supervisor, to my great terror, threw me into the work of tutoring at University, in the very popular subject The History of the Holocaust. I will always remember the first class I ever taught. It had a Holocaust survivor […]