E/CN.4/2002/24/Add.1 page 18 1. Programmes and institutions in charge of multiculturalism 38. The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) is the main Commonwealth institution in charge of the promotion and realization of multiculturalism at the national level. It was instrumental in drafting A New Agenda for Multicultural Australia. This policy document stresses the Government’s commitment to enhance and focus Australian multiculturalism to make it relevant to all Australians and ensure that the social, cultural and economic benefits of diversity are maximized in the national interest. DIMA is also responsible for refining and testing the new performance management framework under the Charter for Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society, which allows departments and agencies to consider language and cultural diversity in the context of good business sense. Preliminary findings indicate that numerous benefits can be achieved from the new approach, and that much progress has been made in implementing the new Charter. 39. Some of the main features of the New Agenda for Multicultural Australia include: (a) The Charter for Public Service in a Culturally Diverse Society has been designed to assist government programmes to meet the needs of the culturally and linguistically diverse Australia. It integrates a set of service delivery principles concerning cultural diversity into the strategic planning, policy development, budget and reporting processes of government service delivery - irrespective of whether these services are provided by Government, agencies, community organizations or commercial enterprises. The principles are access, equity, communication, responsiveness, effectiveness, efficiency and accountability. It also incorporates a best practice guide for achieving and reporting on government services. During 2001 the framework will be further refined in consultation with Commonwealth portfolio agencies and state, territory and local governments. This process will include discussion on how best to integrate the framework with the Charter itself; (b) The Living in Harmony programme is a multifaceted programme that aims to build on Australia’s successful record of community harmony by emphasizing its traditional values of justice, equality, fairness and friendship. It is administered by DIMA and the centrepiece of the project is a community grants programme which provides funding for projects that promote community harmony, reduce racial intolerance, and build on previous initiatives for raising cross-cultural awareness, tolerance and understanding. Along with the grants programme, DIMA has formed partnerships with several organizations, including state and territory governments, to develop projects aimed at improving social cohesion, tackling racism, or generating better understanding, respect and cooperation among people from different cultural backgrounds. DIMA suggests a number of activities to be undertaken by individuals or organizations to try and foster better relations in their local community, e.g. organizing a “harmony picnic or barbecue”, planting a “harmony tree”. Beyond Tolerance, for example, is a Living in Harmony project developed by Hughes primary school in Canberra, which the Special Rapporteur visited. It strives to achieve a culturally inclusive school by promoting cross-cultural awareness among children. This is done, for example, by encouraging children from various ethnic backgrounds to interact by sharing knowledge. Hughes primary school’s teachers’ Resource Guide underlines that the continuous professional development of staff