Kia ora. Anei te mihi o te Kaihautu Whakawhanaunga a Iwi, mo nga mahi nui, mahi whakamana i te tangata i roto i nga kaupapa Whakawhanaunga a Iwi i Aotearoa.
Here are this month's acknowledgements from the Race Relations Commissioner for positive contributions to cultural diversity and race relations in New Zealand.
For the 2009 Diversity Forum, we are encouraging attendees to participate in the Diversity Forum social networking pages, by any, or all, of the following ways…
So join us, get involved, and share with your friends and networks.
9 Diversity Forum, we are encouraging attendees to participate in the Diversity Forum social networking pages, by any, or all, of the following ways...
So join us, get involved, and share with your friends and networks.
For Twirling with Time, June 2009. The Ngaio Marsh Theatre in Christchurch was alive to the music and dance of the city’s diverse communities on 6 June at a multicultural concert organised by Philippine Culture and Sport to mark Philippines Independence Day.
The event acknowledged the intertwining of cultures in the history of the Philippines through both inward and outward migration, including links with Arab traders and the arrival of Islam, trade with China, India, Japan and Thailand, colonisation by Spain, and most recently migration to the Pacific and New Zealand. Performers representing many of these cultures and traditions took part in the show. Philippine Culture and Sport was formed in 1996 and promotes a wide range of sporting and cultural activities for the growing Filipino community in Christchurch: "Drawn by the spirit of unity, we promote intercultural communication by connecting with other nationalities in projects that are mutually beneficial to both the government and the growing migrant population." The concert was part of Philippine and Sports contribution to the New Zealand Diversity Action Programme.
For MC’ing the International Cultures Day, 2009.
A belated acknowledgment to Jessica Prasad, Leo Anthony Browning, Tevivi Daniel, Hawraa Mzeraa and Guoda Sukockaite of the Hawkes Bay Intercultural Youth Group, who together acted as highly successful MC's for the annual Hawkes Bay International Cultures Day in March. International Cultures Day is organised by the Hawkes Bay branch of the NZ China Friendship Society and features a wide variety of the cultures present in the Bay, with cultural performances, food and information stalls. The youth group members have already promised to do the job again next year and in the meantime have developed a strategic plan and done an art project as well as planning further activities.
For best practice in multilingual communication.
The Elections New Zealand website is a joint website of the Electoral Enrolment Centre, the Chief Electoral Office and the Electoral Commission. It is the best example we can find of government information being provided in a wide range of languages in an accessible and well advertised manner in order to inform communities whose first language is not English. The Elections New Zealand website provides up to date information in English, Māori, New Zealand Sign and eighteen other languages, prominently signposted from the home page. Multilingual information was provided for the Mt Albert by-election, and most recently for the forthcoming referendum. The Electoral Enrolment Centre's household leaflet on the referendum also included a web link in all the languages available on their site, thus widely advertising the availability of this service.
For the Aotearoa National Matariki Project. If you go to the Māori Tourism Council’s Matariki Events website you will find an amazing array of Matariki events from Northland to the Bluff.
The New Zealand Māori Tourism Council has followed on from the early initiatives of the Māori Language Commission, Te Papa, iwi, local government and others to develop Matariki as a national festival and has encouraged its constituent regional Māori tourism organisations to support and promote programmes in all regions throughout New Zealand. Their Aotearoa National Matariki Project started out with the vision that by 2011 Matariki would be New Zealand's premier national celebration that celebrates our unique culture and heritage and fosters a strong sense of national identity.
They seek to do this through (1) supporting the development, coordination and promotion of signature Matariki events (via a website portal and linkages with other organisations); and (2) building the capability of Matariki events organisers and the quality of Matariki events throughout New Zealand's regions and communities. Their efforts have brought together a number of Matariki events happening around the country this year under one portal. The Council also has another strategic project, Living Landscapes, which seeks to tell the traditional Māori stories of New Zealand through a series of regional brochures.
For Culturally Competent Practice, A Training Manual for Professionals. This manual on working with refugees, migrants and people from diverse backgrounds was launched in Auckland on 18 June.
It was compiled by Dr Love Chile of AUT University's Institute of Public Policy with contributions from Refugee Services senior cross-cultural workers Remy Bucumi and Zerai Mewos. It has its origins in group supervision with cross cultural workers at Refugee Services and of Social Workers, Youth Workers and Community Liaison Persons in nine Auckland secondary schools that are part of the Achievement in Multicultural High Schools (AIMHI) programme. It provides the basis for ten workshops on issues such as interpreting, cross-cultural competence, values and ethics, self-awareness, cross-cultural knowledge, cross-cultural communication and understanding human rights.
Although designed initially for Refugee Services and school social workers, it is a very useful and practical resource for any organisation that has a diverse client-base. The manual "serves to start the process of defining the professional identity of cross-cultural work, develop some standards for practice, and engage in the process of identifying the skills necessary for effective cross-cultural practice at both the individual practitioner and organizational level."
For Te Pihi Mata, The Sacred Eye, 2007-2009. Photographs of Whanganui iwi taken by WHT Partington from 1892-1908 have been on display at Whanganui Regional Museum since December 2007 in a respectful and fascinating exhibition developed in consultation with Whanganui iwi.
When these ancestral photos were offered for sale by auction, their descendents negotiated to purchase them and paid a six figure sum to retrieve them. They are now kept at the museum, which is itself unique in having a treaty-based governance model similar to that of the Anglican Church. The Treaty partners are represented in a Tikanga Māori House formed from the iwi and hapu of the Whanganui Region, and a Civic House made up of representatives of each major stakeholder group, each contributing representatives to the museum's joint council. The Houses come together in a partnership to govern the Museum.
The Trust's Joint Council can have up to twelve members, up to six in each house. Once on the Joint Council all members work to further the development of the Museum. Decisions are made by agreement of a majority of both houses. Te Pihi Mata exhibition closes in September, so there's still time to visit it. Other exhibitions include Land: Mana Whenua, Mana Tangata, which describes the development of the wider Whanganui region, community and city during the 19th century through experiences of tangata whenua and European settlers, with particular reference to land, spirituality, conflict and alliance, and the forthcoming Family Treasures He Mapihi Maurea 2009, a community project involving Year 7 and 8 students, their families, their schools and the Museum.
For the Refugees with Disability Workshop, June 2009. Events took place in a number of centres on and around June 20 to mark World Refugee Day.
The Northern Region of CCS Disability Action used the occasion to hold a workshop on June 18 focusing on the needs of refugees with a disability, bringing together both refugees and service providers. Around 40 people attended the workshop, with presentations by five refugees with a disability or with family members with a disability and by CCS Disability Action and Refugee Services. New Zealand is one of the few countries that accept refugees with a disability under its annual refugee quota. CCS Disability Action is also hosting two workshops at the New Zealand Diversity Forum in Wellington on 24 August - one on Giving Words Meaning: Stories of Disability and Diversity and the other on Responding Effectively to Diversity in Disability Services.
For ‘Kids for Kids’, June 2009. This Wellington event for World Refugee Day at the Wellington Town Hall encouraged kids aged between 5 and 12 to take a trip around the world, to learn about cultural diversity and to have fun.
Activities were wide-ranging and included things such as a hiphop workshop; International Arts and Crafts; 'Fun with Mr Fungus- New Zealand's loudest mime'; an authentic Burmese lunch and more. The event was organised by Refugee Services in association with Children on the Edge, which supports Burmese children who are internally displaced in Burma and refugees in Thailand.
For the Kai Xin Xing Don, Chinese Like Minds Website. This bilingual website was launched in the first week of June, with the intent of extending the reach of the Like Minds Like Mine programme across cultures in New Zealand.
Kai Xin Xing Dong grew from the 2006 Like Minds Like Mine campaign. Since then, culturally appropriate resources have been developed and publicised through Chinese media; workshops have been run with Chinese communities; and, with the help of Asian mental health community leaders, the project has connected with churches and Chinese community support groups to educate people on tackling stigma and discrimination related to mental illness. Following the launch of the website, KXXD is developing more resources, which are primarily used by the general public, but are also designed to support GPs or mental health professionals. Later in the year, KXXD will be publishing a literature review of 'New Zealand Chinese Attitudes to Mental Illness.' The KXXD project is thought to be the first project in a Western country to use culturally appropriate approaches to counter stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness in Chinese communities. Check out the Kai Xin Xing Don website.
For coordinating community consultation for a Nelson/ Tasman racial harassment reporting system, 2009.
Debbie Kohner is a young lawyer from Northern Ireland with a strong interest in race relations, and the grand daughter of Jewish refugees who fled the Sudetenland at the beginning of World War 2. She was on vacation in Nelson on Waitangi Day and came to a public meeting at Whakatu Marae called to discuss racial harassment in Nelson and to hear about the Welcome to Christchurch campaign and Report It website for international students experiencing racial harassment in Christchurch. With the strong support of Nelson Mayor Kerry Marshall it was decided to investigate a similar initiative for Nelson and Tasman but tailored to the particular needs of the region. A group comprising the Nelson Multi-Ethnic Council, the Settling In Programme, the Anti-Racism Sub-Committee of the Nelson Safer Community Council and a variety of other stakeholders was established, and Debbie offered to coordinate community consultation on a voluntary basis.
Around 30 focus groups and interviews with 200 people were conducted. A report from the research has been produced, and consultation is now taking place with various agencies on how the project can be supported after the research stage. The report will be launched at the Nelson Multicultural Centre (2 Bridge St, Nelson) on August 3, on the same day that the new Centre itself will be officially opened. Debbie and other representatives from Nelson will also present their findings at the New Zealand Diversity Forum at Te Papa on Monday 24 August, where there will be a wider discussion on international student safety including the recent incidents of racial harassment in Australia and the experience of the Christchurch Report-It website.
The 2009 New Zealand Diversity Forum takes place in Wellington on 23 – 24 August. Over 30 different organisations will be hosting forums and events promoting cultural diversity, racial equality and positive race relations.
The programme includes events at regional museums on the Saturday and Sunday, a wide range of community forums, a multicultural festival and a celebration of diversity on the Sunday, and more forums and the annual diversity awards on Monday.
Forum topics range from indigenous issues to cultural diversity, migrant settlement, refugees, employment, health, languages, disability, religion, families, media, sport, racial discrimination, diversity research and government accountability to the United Nations. There will be multi-cultural entertainment, exhibitions, debate, keynote speakers, a youth forum and an event to mark the fifth anniversary of the New Zealand Diversity Action Programme.
The forum is a joint project of the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, Te Papa, the Wellington City Council, the Settling In Programme and New Zealand Diversity Action Programme participants. The principal locations are Te Papa and Wellington City Council venues, but some events will take place elsewhere in Wellington City and around the region.
The forum programme continues to evolve and will be regularly updated. Register now and we will keep you informed and ask you to nominate the specific events you want to attend later.
There are a number of ways to signup to attend the Diversity Forum. Add yourself to any, or all, of the following...
Join us, get involved, and share with your friends and networks.
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