Imagine being gay in some of the other cultures around the world

Orange Ribbon - JOY's cultural diversity and awareness show

We are often asked why the name "Orange Ribbon". The Orange Ribbon multicultural program was initially conceived and presented on JOY from July, 1998. The two initial presenters were Kim Benton (New Zealander) and (now Dr.) Shanton Chang (Malaysian Chinese.) In 1998 Shanton, who was then active in overseas student politics here in Australia, came up with the suggestion. Because of his involvement with the Overseas Students Union, he was aware that it was a symbol used by Flinders University that year for their multicultural week, held at the height of the Pauline Hanson infamy. In 1999 more universities picked up the idea, and continued with the "orange ribbon" theme. Around the same time the Australian Immigration Dept. (then known as DIMIA) started to support a living in Harmony program aimed at supporting multiculturalism, and fostering cultural diversity throughout Australia. By the early 2000's this eventually evolved to become what we now know as National National Harmony Day, which is held in March each year. And the symbol now used to promote Harmony Day is the Orange Ribbon.