There's one thing Australians are known for all over the world, and that's their friendly, easy-going attitude. Of course, food, events, art and history are vital parts of Australian culture, but what really sets an Australian apart is their relaxed outlook on life. Largely inspired by Aboriginal culture, Australia's arts are a big part of the national culture, both for citizens and for the world at large. From its charming accents to its love for wildlife, Australia's popular culture has been hugely successful at home and abroad, especially in films that show their ways of life.
For example, it is known that people reject national awards because of the alienation they could generate among their fellow Australian citizens. Australia is a highly multicultural society with a strong mix of indigenous groups, individuals with European historical roots and a diverse mix of immigrant populations. Australian chefs are known around the world for their fusion cuisine, a mix of European culinary traditions with Asian flavors and products. Australia's indigenous peoples and nations are the traditional custodians of the land and have inhabited it for approximately 60,000 years.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders represent less than 3% of the population, and while most Australians come from the British Isles, many are also increasingly of Asian descent. Australians have largely embraced the cultural diversity that immigrants bring, and the country is constantly drawing on these influences to build its own developing national character. The cultural tendency to dismiss uncomfortable facts from Australian history has particularly harmful implications for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. However, outside of national politics, Australians generally treat and accept people from all backgrounds equally and may simply relate more to those with whom they share similarities.
Australia is one of the world's largest exporters of wool, meat and wheat and a major supplier of sugar, dairy products, fruits, cotton and rice. The participation of Australian and New Zealand troops (Anzac) in the First World War has been characterized as the symbolic birth of the nation. South Australia has an excellent wine region, and the seafood that comes from the Tasman and Coral Seas is top notch. Thus, immigration can be defined as a series of waves, in which the British dominated until the 1940s, followed by Northern Europeans (including people displaced by World War I), Southern Europeans (predominantly in the period after World War II) and, finally, after the abandonment of the White Australia Policy in 1972, Asians.
Australian food characteristics tend to focus a bit on meat, with beef and lamb (lamb) being common. The government maintains ongoing relationships with many large and small non-governmental organizations (NGOs) dedicated to human rights and community services (Amnesty International, the Australian Red Cross, Defense for Children International and the International Agency for Women's Development). Despite their good luck, Australians tend to resist overt demonstrations of national superiority (with the exception of their sporting prowess). Australian English is different from British and American English, but it doesn't vary much regionally.
