Mr Giridharan Sivaraman, Australia’s Race Discrimination Commissioner, delivered the 2024 UNESCO Chair Oration on 21 August 2024. Mr. Sivaraman delivered a though-provoking paper on the ‘The Racism of Benign Assimilation’.
About Giridharan Sivaraman
Giridharan Sivaraman commenced as Australia’s Race Discrimination Commissioner in March 2024. Prior to becoming Commissioner, he was Principal Lawyer with Maurice Blackburn where he led the firm’s Queensland Employment Law department. He also held the position of Chair of Multicultural Australia from 2021-2024 and was a member of the Queensland Multicultural Advisory Council from 2019-2024, where he was an advocate for the rights of victims of racial vilification.
Commissioner Sivaraman was born in India and migrated to Australia as a child. His anti-discrimination legal and advocacy work is based on his strong passion for human rights, as well as his moral conviction to speak truth to power and fight for the rights of the marginalised, oppressed, and vilified.
The Race Discrimination Commissioner is a statutory position within the Australian Human Rights Commission. Under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) (RDA), this position is responsible for promoting equality between people of different backgrounds, conducting research and educational programs to combat racial discrimination, and protecting people from unfair treatment or vilification on the basis of their race, colour, descent, visa status, or national or ethnic origin.
About the event
Acting Vice-Chancellor of Deakin University, Deakin Distinguished Professor Elizabeth Johnson, introduced the evening. Deakin Distinguished Professor and Pro Vice Chancellor, Indigenous Strategy and Innovation, Professor Mark Rose also spoke. Deakin Distinguished Professor Mansouri acted as Master of Ceremonies for the evening.
Commissioner Sivaraman spoke powerfully and personally about the impacts on individuals of the everyday adjustments and accommodations that non-white people are forced to make to succeed in current systems.
“How many of us know of others, or indeed ourselves have changed or altered our names when applying for jobs? And when we do get jobs why don’t we progress to senior levels? When I look at the senior levels of Corporations boards the public service and of course politics, why do I see so few people of colour? And to get to…these senior positions, why do we need to shed ourselves of everything that makes us different? Our language, our religion, our culture, our dress, everything that we can change but the colour of our skins…[This is] the one thing that we cannot change which ironically means we will still be the victims of racism.”
Following the Oration, an engaging discussion took place, moderated by Professor Mansouri.
About the UNESCO Oration
The UNESCO Chair was thrilled to be able to reinstitute the annual UNESCO Chair Oration in 2024 after a short hiatus. The last UNESCO Chair Oration was delivered in 2019 by Professor Marcia Langton.
