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Chapter Four
Multicultural Policies of Selected Countries
4.1 Affirmative Action and Assistance of Special Representation
Affirmative Action is the practice of improving the educational and job opportunities of
members of groups that have not been treated fairly in the past because of their race, sex, etc.
Affirmative action also refers to an active effort to improve the employment or educational
opportunities of members of minority groups and women; also a similar effort to promote the
rights or progress of other disadvantaged persons or group of the community. An Affirmative
Action Strategy to address past injustices and discriminations in the past on women’s and some
parts of the community. The concept of affirmative action aims to overcome discriminatory
practices by taking positive steps to redistribute opportunities from the 'haves' to the 'have not’s.
Affirmative Action (AA) is useful for redressing intractable political and socio-economic
inequalities arising from systemic discrimination; affirmative action programs have often been
fraught.
Affirmative action is set of measures adopted by governments and public and private institutions
such as political parties, educational establishments, corporations and companies to address a
history of systemic discrimination and exclusion of particular social groups or to encourage the
efforts of particular social groups in the interests of certain development goals. Affirmative
action is expected to improve development indicators by reducing inequalities and facilitating the
contribution of particular social groups to development. Affirmative action has also been defined
as concrete steps that are taken not only to eliminate discrimination whether in employment,
education, or contracting but also to attempt to redress the effects of past discrimination.
Discriminatory and stereotypes perceptions as well as the cumulative effects of the past
discriminations have continued to the present day. Affirmative measures are necessary to offset
these systematic barriers that exclude women benefiting from different opportunities. Thus,
affirmative action measures are needed to counter these barriers and to equalize the distribution
of opportunities such as jobs, education, leadership positions and seats in the parliament. There is
no specific organization that evaluates and monitors the effective application of affirmative
action for women. Most employers seem to just use the phrase 'Women applicants are highly
encouraged. The manner in which affirmative action are implemented is that the types of action
they require, and the broader implications they carry vary from country to country and in

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different sectors. Affirmative action in employment sector might take different forms. Employers
might make special efforts to hire and promote more women. For instance, lowering the
requirement scale and reserving a quota for women in the management position. The principle of
affirmative action does not require selection of less qualified individuals by compromising
quality. Rather, it aims to ensure enough qualified disadvantaged groups such as women apply
and are given priority during the selection process. Thus, affirmative action attempts to equalize
results or outcomes, rather than opportunities.
The concept of affirmative action in Ethiopia is highly linked with education, on the entry point
required for men and female students to join higher educations. However, little is known about
the application of affirmative action in the employment sector. According to the Federal Civil
Servant Proclamation No. 515/2000, article 13(3) employers are obliged to take affirmative
measures in the recruitment, promotion and deployment of female candidates, candidates with
disability and members of nationalities that are less represented are entitled for affirmative
action. However, this proclamation does not prioritize the groups nor does it state the exact
measures that should be taken to bring fairness through affirmative action. The Civil Servants
recruitment Directive, which is promulgated to facilitate the implementation of article 14/3 of the
Civil Servants proclamation under No. 5.6.1 (b), clarifies the above ambiguity. This directive
obliges employers to add three percent of the total score for female candidates and candidates
with disabilities during selection. Concerning, candidates from members of nationalities that are
less represented, affirmative action measure will be provided depending on the ethnic
composition of the organization. In the need to prioritize between the groups, the directive gives
priority to candidates with disability then to women candidates. The underlying motive for
affirmative action is the Constitutional principle of equal opportunity in the entire society.
4.2 Ethiopia and Multiculturalism Policy
Ethiopia is among the most diverse societies in the world. Such as linguistic diversity, religious
and cultural diversity are existence in Ethiopia. In the aftermath of overthrow of military
dictatorship in 1991, there was a concern to fulfill aspirations of the several diverse groups by
designing an appropriate state structure is that federal system.
The federal system is designed to reflect these complex diversities in the structure and operation
of government. Ethiopia linked equality for individuals with equality for diverse nations and
nationalities. There are five major principles in Ethiopia to accommodate the various diversities.

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These are principles of secularism, minority rights, linguistic pluralism, protection of

disadvantaged groups, and federalism (FRDE Constitution Arts 1, 5, 8, 3, 9, 47 and 51)
Ethiopia is a homeland of many nations, nationalities and peoples who have distinct tradition,
history, and culture at large and undermines the genuine shared powers among the established
government structures/levels. Ethnicity constitutes one of a major features of federal Constitution
used to form units for self-government based on ethnic profile. This consequently explains why
the Ethiopian federalism is often referred as ethnic (or tribal) federalism. In conjoined reading of
Article 8 and 47 of the federal Constitution, the Constitution confirms the establishment of nine
sovereign regional states, and further legalizes sovereign power to reside with the nations,
nationalities and peoples.‘ Of these nine regional states, Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Somali
and Harari are ethnically homogeneous, though not purely. The others, however, are noticeably
heterogeneous.
Yet in those ethnically homogeneous regional states, there are still ethnic minorities live in the
midst of the empowered and dominant regional majorities such as the Irob and Kunama
minorities in Tigray and the Agew in Amhara regional states. For instance, in today‘s Ethiopia,
self-determination seems to be a right granted to nations, nationalities and peoples. Thus it is
those ethnic groups both the majorities and minorities that can claim this right, practically as
units of issues of minority rights in the Ethiopian Federation. By taking the objective, subjective
and the combination of both criteria of defining minorities in Ethiopia is a land of minorities.
There is not any one ethnic group that claims to be in a majority position at the federal /national
level. The Federal Constitution recognized minority rights implicitly as given to all Nations,
Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia, as all Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia
having all cultural, linguistic, and self-determination rights as long as they are “indigenous to the
areas”, that they currently occupy.
They have also a right to be represented at the federal level through the House of Federation. The
Constitution also explicitly recognizes minority group’s representation in the House of Peoples
Representatives under article 54 /3, which reserves at least 20 seats for minority Nationalities. It
is from this backdrop that this module describes the Constitution of the Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia in light of the international human right instruments to which Ethiopia is a
party. It also describes the practical implementation of some minority rights based on the
constitution.

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The recognition of equality and non-discrimination are the basic normative foundations of the
Constitution underpinning further minority rights. But, issues of non-discrimination and formal
equality rights and the protection of minorities by providing especial status, which may not be
given to other and the issue of substantive equality, within the Ethiopian federation at large and
within the regional states need a case-by-case balancing of the right of non-discrimination and
right of minorities to special protection.
The Constitution provides also that everyone has the right of thought, conscience and religion as
well as inviolable and inalienable right to life, privacy, liberty and the security of person. The
constitution promulgates also broad range of collective rights starting from recognition of every
Nation, Nationality and Peoples of Ethiopia as the sovereign power holders in the Ethiopian
polity, to self-determination up to secession rights. The most important article in relation to
minority rights may be described as follows:
Article 5/1 states that all Ethiopian languages shall enjoy equal state recognition. The
recognition of all Ethiopian languages is independence of number of speakers and whether they
are regional or minority languages is an important step towards the implementation of minority
rights in Ethiopia. Since language is the main cultural marker that differentiates the minorities
from majority and enables the existence of a minority as an identified group. Article 8(1) state
that all the sovereign power resides in the Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia. Since
Ethiopia is recognized here as a composite of Nation, Nationalities and Peoples, every person in
Ethiopia is assumed to belong to certain Nation, Nationalities and Peoples and hence all Nation,
Nationalities and Peoples, whether large or small in number are the sovereign power holder, So,
implicitly minorities in Ethiopia are recognized as the founders of the Ethiopian polity. This is a
wider recognition of minority rights albeit implicitly.
Special Representation of Minorities at the National Level
One of the core pillars of minority rights is the representation and participation of minorities in
the decision-making process. This is very crucial especially regarding issues, which are concerns
of minorities. The Ethiopian federal system provides the opportunity of representation of all
minorities at the federal level in the two Houses of Parliament in different ways.
The representation of all Nation, Nationality and Peoples in the House of Federation which is the
quintessential place of minority representation is regulated according to article 61 of the FDRE
Constitution. Article 61 reads as follows;

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Members of the House of Federation:

1. The House of the Federation is composed of representatives of Nations, Nationalities and
Peoples.
2. Each Nation, Nationality and Peoples shall be represented in the House of the federation
by at least one member. Each Nation or Nationality shall be represented by one additional
representative for each additional one million of its population.
Based on these articles currently the house of federation has 135 Members and they represent 65
Nation and Nationalities. So, as the House of Federation is responsible to the preparation and
decision of the federal state budget transfer formula and the interpretation of the constitution it is
possible to contend that the Nation, Nationality and Peoples of Ethiopia are present in critical
decisions that influence their rights as a minority (article 62 of the FDE Constitution). Moreover
the House is also entrusted with the responsibility to solve disputes that may arise between
regional states and to promote and consolidate the unity of Nation, Nationality and Peoples of
Ethiopia based on equality and their mutual consent. In fact, as part of the House of Federation
minorities also have the possibility to influence their common destiny as citizens of Ethiopia.
The House has little power in policy formulation and legislation at the federal level and it is a
weak form of second chamber that has little influence on the practical day-to-day operation of
the federation as not being a legislative organ in contrast to the House of Peoples Representative.
It then follows that the Nation, Nationalities and Peoples, implicitly minorities have no strong
influence on the legislation and hence the policy formulation and implementation processes of
the federal government. By taking into consideration that the development and decision on
federal-state budget transfer formula and constitutional interpretation as the basic responsibilities
of the House of Federation and the possibility of representation of minority nationalities in the
House of Peoples Representatives, it is possible to argue that, minorities have wider possibilities
to bring their case forward and to influence the decision making process at the federal level.
However, the main variable that accounts for the degree of influence on decision making is party
politics. As matter of fact, minority issues are also directly related to the party political
constellation in the country and the current incumbent coalition of regionally organized parties
may give a chance for the minorities to promote their issues, as a coalition partners.
The second possibility for minority representation at federal level under the FDRE Constitution
is the representation of minority nationalities in the House of Peoples Representatives.

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Article54/3 of the FDRE Constitution explicitly states the representation of minority nationalities
and peoples. The article reads as follows. Members of the House, on the basis of population and
special representation of minority Nationality and Peoples shall not exceed 550; of these,
minority Nationalities and Peoples shall have at least 20 seats. Particulars shall be determined by
law. To clearly pinpoint way of minority representation in the House of Peoples Representatives,
it is desirable at this juncture to discuss, the Election Law of Ethiopia, Proclamation 253/2007.
Article 20 of this proclamation dealt with the issue of “constituencies.” In relation to minority
representation sub-article 1 paragraph b, c, d, e of article 20 are of paramount importance and are
presented as follows:
1. Constituencies for general elections shall be organized as follows.
2. The number of constituencies, which shall be determined on the basis of the population
of the country and special representation of minority nationalities and peoples shall not
exceed 550 and shall contain a proportional number of people except in the case of
constituencies, where minority nationalities and peoples are represented.
3. There shall be constituencies, where in accordance with article 54 of the Constitution
minority nationalities and peoples, whose member is not less than 20 and are believed to
require special representation, represented.
4. Minority nationalities believed to require special representation shall be determined in
advance by the House of Federation based on clear criteria.
5. The list of constituencies shall be decided and announced to the public by the House of
Federation upon the study and report of the Board submitted to the House.
Thus, a prior identification of minorities to be represented is a responsibility entrusted to the
House of Federation, which is also the House of Nation, Nationalities and Peoples and
considered as the house of minorities, which are recognized as Nation, Nationality and Peoples
in Ethiopia. The right of minority groups , whose number is not less than 20 to have their
representative in the House of Peoples Representative, where currently one Member of
Parliament represents 100,000 people, albeit the perceived asymmetry between representing
100,000 people and 20 peoples, makes the House of Peoples Representative, minority friendly
parliament.

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Finally, it is possible to argue that in the Ethiopian federation, minorities have an explicit and
implied right to be represented at the federal level in the two Houses those are the House of
Federation and the House of Peoples Representatives.
4.3. Country Experience
4.3.1 Canada’s Policy of Bilingualism and Multicultural Policy
Multiculturalism in Canada is the sense of an equal celebration of racial, religious and cultural
backgrounds. Multiculturalism policy was officially adopted by the Canadian government during
the 1970s and 1980s. The Canadian federal government has been described as the instigator of
multiculturalism as an ideology because of its public emphasis on the social importance of
immigration. The 1960s Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism is often referred
to as the origin of modern political awareness of multiculturalism.
In Canada, multiculturalism most often refers to a set of ideas and ideals celebrating their
nation’s cultural diversity. At the national policy level it refers to the “management of diversity
through formal initiatives in the federal provincial and municipal governments. In 1971, the
federal government Canada recognized multiculturalism as a fundamental characteristic of
Canadian society through the adoption of a formal multiculturalism policy. The national policy
recognized the contribution to the nation of the many ethno-cultural groups, besides the French
and the British, who had made Canada their home. It encouraged a vision of Canada based on the
values of equality and mutual respect with regard to race, national or ethnic origin, color and
religion.
Canada became one of the first countries to adopt an official multiculturalism policy in 1971. It
was not until 1988 that it became an actual law. Not only did this policy make sure equality was
given to all Canadian citizens, Aboriginal rights and Canada’s official languages were also set.
The 1971 Multiculturalism Policy of Canada also confirmed the rights of Aboriginal peoples and
the status of Canada’s policy on two official languages are English and French.
Canadians have used the term "multiculturalism" both descriptively (as a sociological fact) and
prescriptively (as a political ideology). In the first sense "multiculturalism" is a description of the
many different religious traditions and cultural influences that in their unity and coexistence in
Canada make up Canadian culture. The nation consists of people from a multitude of racial,
religious and cultural backgrounds and is open to cultural pluralism. Canada has experienced
different waves of immigration since the nineteenth century, and by the 1980s almost 40 percent

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of the population were of neither British nor French origins (the two largest groups, and among
the oldest). In the past, the relationship between the British and the French has been given a lot
of importance in Canada's history. By the early twenty-first century, people from outside British
and French heritage composed the majority of the population, with an increasing percentage of
individuals who self-identify as "visible minorities"
The multiculturalism policy allows citizens to practice their religions and keep their identities
without the fear of persecution. As a result, the policy believes that without this fear, Canadians
would be more willing to accept different cultures. The policy, therefore, emphasizes a mutual
respect between ethnicities and also acceptance of one’s personal beliefs.
This policy guaranteed equality before the law and for pursuing opportunities whether personal,
career, or in any other field. This means anyone of any race or ethnic origin is capable of
pursuing his or her interests without persecution. Canadian law, as a result, reflects many of
these rights and belief as they guaranteed to all men and women. All of these rights are also
stated in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which is part of the Canadian
Constitution.
Multiculturalism is reflected in the law through the Canadian Multiculturalism Act and section
27 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and is administered by the Department of
Canadian Heritage. The Broadcasting Act of 1991 asserts the Canadian broadcasting system
should reflect the diversity of cultures in the country. Despite the official policies, segments of
the Canadian population are critical of the concept(s) of a cultural mosaic and implementation(s)
of multiculturalism legislation. Quebec's ideology differs from that of the other provinces in that
its official policies focus on interculturalism.
The Canadian Multiculturalism Act has two fundamental principles:
 All citizens are equal and have the freedom to preserve, enhance and share their cultural
heritage.
 Multiculturalism promotes the full and equitable participation of individuals and
communities of all origins in all aspects of Canadian society.
The Canadian Multiculturalism Act affirms the policy of the government to ensure that every
Canadian receives equal treatment by the government which respects and celebrates diversity.

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The Act also:

 recognizes Canada's multicultural heritage and that this heritage must be protected
 recognizes Aboriginal rights
 recognizes English and French remain the only official languages but that other
languages may be used
 Recognizes equality rights regardless of colour, religion, etc.
 Recognizes minorities' rights to enjoy their cultures.
Section 3 (1) of the act states:
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Government of Canada to
a) Recognize and promote the understanding that multiculturalism reflects the cultural and
racial diversity of Canadian society and acknowledges the freedom of all members of
Canadian society to preserve, enhance and share their cultural heritage.
b) Recognize and promote the understanding that multiculturalism is a fundamental
characteristic of the Canadian heritage and identity and that it provides an invaluable
resource in the shaping of Canada’s future.
c) Promote the full and equitable participation of individuals and communities of all origins
in the continuing evolution and shaping of all aspects of Canadian society and assist them
in the elimination of any barrier to that participation
d) Recognize the existence of communities whose members share a common origin and
their historic contribution to Canadian society, and enhance their development
e) Ensure that all individuals receive equal treatment and equal protection under the law,
while respecting and valuing their diversity
f) Encourage and assist the social, cultural, economic and political institutions of Canada to
be both respectful and inclusive of Canada’s multicultural character
g) Promote the understanding and creativity that arise from the interaction between
individuals and communities of different origins
h) Foster the recognition and appreciation of the diverse cultures of Canadian society and
promote the reflection and the evolving expressions of those cultures
i) Preserve and enhance the use of languages other than English and French, while
strengthening the status and use of the official languages of Canada; and

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j) Advance multiculturalism throughout Canada in harmony with the national commitment

to the official languages of Canada.
4.3.2 Switzerland canonization policy of accommodation
Switzerland is a federal republic country in west central Europe. Switzerland is a small,
landlocked country set amid mountainous terrain in the heart of the European continent. It is
bordered on the west by France, on the north by Germany, on the east by Austria, and on the
south by Italy. The tiny principality of Liechtenstein lies between Switzerland and Austria. Each
of the four major bordering countries has had an influence on Swiss culture. The Swiss people
are an ethnic mix consisting mainly of native German, French, and Italian speakers, and most
towns have two or even three correct names in those languages.
The official languages of Switzerland are German (spoken by 64 percent of the population),
French (19 percent), and Italian (8 percent). The fourth national language, Romansch, is spoken
by less than 1 percent of the people. Other languages, particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and
Turkish, are spoken by the remaining population.
Switzerland has a rich and diverse cultural heritage. The German, French, Italian, and Rhaetia-
Roman cultures embodied in the Swiss linguistic regions have all profoundly influenced the
broader Swiss culture, even as they have retained their own distinctive forms of expression. The
multi-cultural nature of Switzerland is one of its symbols. This has been recognized since the
birth of the nation. The cultural diversity of Switzerland has evolved over centuries. The multi-
cultural aspect of Swiss society is understood first and foremost, in terms of the existence of
many languages. There are Swiss German speakers, French speakers, Italian speakers and those
that speak Romansch. The four language regions are also cultural diversify regions. These are
characteristic institutions, organizations, traditions, customs, habits, styles of architecture, ways
of life, styles of work and play and cuisines. The language communities naturally form defined
cultural groups.
It is increasingly difficult to answer such a question. The religious differences within Swiss
society have a long history, dating back to the Reformation time. It is worth remembering that
these differences, which started during the Reformation and finally took shape at the end of the
19th century, were characterized by relative stability. “Multiculturalism is a generic concept that
encapsulates a state’s willingness to recognize ethnic diversity through its policy and practice is a
highly contested phenomenon. The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Federation guarantees

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freedom of conscience and religion in Article 15, guaranteeing freedom of choice in the matter of
choosing one’s religious affiliation, and the right to belong to a congregation of one’s choice.
The multi-lingual aspect of Switzerland entails different connotations. On the one hand, the
constitution of the Swiss Federation gives the four languages mentioned above the status of
official languages. Linguistic autonomy is guaranteed by the ‘territorial concept’’ according to
which cantons are obliged to protect the traditional language of their regions.
In Switzerland no community can be forced to use an official language other than its own. In
accordance with the constitution, these cantons define their official languages in such a way as to
ensure harmonious coexistence between different language communities, taking into account the
linguistic traditions of the given region. The constitution also imposes on the Federation specific
tasks connected with the multi-lingual nature of the country. German, French, Italian, and Reto-
Romansch are national languages in Switzerland and a decentralized government that makes
most laws at the canton (or state) level. Since Switzerland has a highly federalized institutional
system, characterized by vertical segmentation and horizontal fragmentation, allowing both
institutions and cantonal parties a high degree of organizational and political autonomy, special
attention has to be given to the cantonal level. The foreign influences have shaped Switzerland
since early times. Switzerland is a confederation of 26 states those called cantons. There are 20
full cantons and six half-cantons; the half-cantons were formed when three full cantons were
subdivided. The cantons and half-cantons are subdivided into communes (German gemeinde),
which are roughly equivalent to counties and within number about 3,000.
Generally Swiss is multilingual country in central Europe. In a majority of the cantons the most
commonly spoken language is Schweizerdeutsch (Swiss German), an Alamannic dialect of
German differing vastly from other German dialects. Newspapers and magazines are written in
standard German, however, and German is the language of many theater, motion picture, and
television productions. French is the most commonly spoken language in the cantons of
Fribourg, Jura, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel, and Geneva, and Italian is the predominant language in
Ticino. Romansch, a Romance language, is spoken chiefly in the canton of Graubünden. Most
Western Europe and North Americans and Canadians states had attempted to define themselves
as a nation state. However the only exceptional state that never attempted to try to construct a
single national language on the territory of the state is Switzerland which has accepted the
French speaking minority would exist as distinct language group in to the in define future.

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4.3.3 Belgium’s linguistic policy and power sharing

Belgium is a small country in Europe and its capital city is Brussels. Belgium is a federal state
divided into three regions: Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north, francophone Wallonia in the
south and Brussels, the bilingual capital, where French and Dutch share official status. There is
also a small German-speaking minority in the eastern part of the country. Belgium’s varied
landscape includes, 67 kilo-meters of sea coast and flat coastal plains along the North Sea, a
central plateau and the rolling hills and forests of the Ardennes region in the south. The Political
system of Belgium is federal parliamentary constitutional monarch system. Accommodation of
diversity through a network of federal institutional mechanisms provides opportunities for
resolving ethno-linguistic conflicts in plural societies. Language has been an important marker of
identity and linguistic identity has been a strong force in all societies, especially in multilingual
society. An accommodative approach to linguistic diversity and plural language policy are
prerequisites of peace and democracy in multilingual countries like India and Belgium. It needs
to be noted that a country diverse in terms of language, culture, religion etc like India has no
choice but to adopt multilingual policies to preserve such kind of diversities.
Belgium is a small multilingual and multicultural country in the northwest part of Europe and a
founding member of the European Union. Belgium hosts 10.5 million inhabitants and has two
main ethnic groups, the Flemings and the Walloons, and as well as a third tiny German-speaking
federal community. The two largest regions of Belgium are the Dutch-speaking region of
Flanders in the north, which covers 59% of the population, and the French-speaking region of
Wallonia in the south, with the 31%. Thus, the country has mainly two dominant speech
community-French and Dutch. The capital region of Brussels is officially bilingual state.
Belgium is divided into three regions—Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels. In Flanders, which
consists of the provinces to the north and west of Brussels, most of the people speak Dutch
(Flemish) and are known as Flemings. In Wallonia, the provinces south and east of Brussels,
most of the people speak French and are known as Walloons. The population of the Brussels
region comes from both language groups. Each region has a great deal of autonomy (self-rule),
but friction between Flemings and Walloons continues to the present day.
There were several mechanisms to protect linguistic minority in Belgium. At the level of the
Parliament there is a veto power. When one linguistic group declares that a proposal is probably
going to harm them as a linguistic group it can be solved. The 1962-1963 language laws

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provided for “linguistic facilities” for a different linguistic region. They included the right to
request that in their dealings with the authorities regarding to administrative matters, education
and relations between employers and employees, language other than that of the region in which
the communes are located can be used. Thus, Belgium is divided into roughly three different
cultural regions: Flemish, French, and, a small German speaking region. The Flemish and
Belgium community live in different areas, read different, newspapers and speak different
languages. The divide in culture has deep historical roots.
4.3.4 Australia’s Policy of Accommodating Difference
Australia, island continent located southeast of Asia and forming, with the nearby island of
Tasmania, the Commonwealth of Australia, a self-governing member of the Commonwealth of
Nations. The continent is bounded on the north by the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea, and the
Torres Strait; on the east by the Coral Sea and the Tasman Sea; on the south by the Bass Strait
and the Indian Ocean; and on the west by the Indian Ocean. Australia is a German-speaking
country in Central Europe, characterized by its mountain villages, baroque city architecture,
Imperial history and rugged alpine terrain.
Australia was dominated by the House of Habsburg (Haus Österreich) from 1273 to 1806, when
their empire came to an end. Australia then became the Austrian Empire, a part of the German
Confederation until the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, after which Austria continued as the
Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867–1918) as a dual monarchy with Hungary.
When this empire collapsed in 1918, Austria was reduced to the main German speaking areas of
the empire with its current frontiers and adopted the name German Austria, since it wanted to
join the new German Weimar Republic. However this union was forbidden by the Allies at the
Treaty of Versailles. Following the First Republic (1918–1933) Austro fascism tried to keep
Australia independent from the German Reich, but in 1938 it was annexed by Nazi Germany
with the support of the majority of the Australian people. After the Second World War Austria
again became an independent republic as the Second Republic in 1955 and joined the European
Union in 1995.
Aboriginal people in Australia are the custodians of one of the oldest continuous living cultures
in the world. Archaeological evidence suggests that Australia has been continuously inhabited
for more than 60,000 years. The government of Australia has a very poor record when it comes

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to treatment of its Aboriginal citizens. Indigenous Australians were dispossessed of their land,
despised for their culture and marginalized, abused, and murdered.
German is the official language. Croatian, Slovenian and Hungarian are recognized as official
languages in the individual regions of autonomous population groups. English is taught at school
as the first foreign language. However, many Australians do not speak a foreign language.
Australia is one of the smaller towns or municipalities. There are comprehensive cultural
facilities such as theatre, cinema, arts expositions and sports facilities in the larger towns and
cities. Language issues have attained a prominence in Australian public life which is
unprecedented. At the highest levels of government there are frequent declarations about
language questions and their intersection with important economic, nation-building and equity
goals. The prevailing slogan could still now be said to be English proficiency with residual
family or immediate community directed skills in the mother tongue. It was as though policy
makers had intuitively understood the language ecology trends revealed by sociolinguistic
research in North America that shifts to English by non- English speakers, whether immigrant or
Aboriginal, would occur primarily as a result of the greater prestige of English, that is, its
exclusive association with social and economic mobility. In both financial terms and in terms of
clear policy, the efforts made either to teach English as a second language (for many Aborigines
English as a foreign language) and to support non-English languages either in education or more
generally have been less than would be required if the true policy had been aiming at
bilingualism. The history of the treatment of Aboriginal languages in Australia is more
longstanding and more extreme than that of the ethnic community languages. Furthermore, given
that language shift away from an Australian language results in the death of the language itself
the urgency of responding positively to the demands of the Aboriginal community is greater.
Following the very strong advocacy by professional groups and ethnic and Aboriginal groups,
the Senate decided in May 1982 to refer the question of language policy to its Standing
Committee on Education and the Arts. The entitled 'A National Language Policy' in October
1984. This national language policy has four guiding principles namely:
(1) Competence in English;
(2) Maintenance and development of languages other than English;
(3) Provision of services in languages other than English and;
(4) Opportunities for learning second languages.

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 Diversity and Multiculturalism (CESt-3035)

Australians come from a rich variety of cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds.
While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the original inhabitants of the land,
immigrants from about 200 countries also call Australia home. The first inhabitants of Australia
were the Aboriginal people, who migrated to the continent some 50,000 to 60,000 years ago. The
continent remained relatively unknown to most of the outside world until the 17th century. The
first permanent European settlement was established in 1788 at Port Jackson, in southeastern
Australia, as a British penal colony; it grew into the city of Sydney. Australia developed as a
group of British colonies during the 19th century, and in 1901 the colonies federated to form a
unified independent nation, the Commonwealth of Australia.

END OF THE CHAPTER

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