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.
Ngā mihi o te Kirihimete me te tau hou
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at the Human Rights Commission who have worked with you and many others in the past year towards positive race relations in Aotearoa New Zealand. 
We look forward to working with you again next year. We will be releasing a discussion document on human rights and the Treaty of Waitangi in January and the annual Race Relations Report in March. The theme for Race Relations Day on 21 March is "It's About Us: Whanau".
Wishing you a happy holiday
Joris de Bres
Race Relations Commissioner
Kaihautū Whakawhanaunga-ā-Iwi
Sam Sefuiva
Principal Advisor, Race Relations
Kaitohu Matua Whakawhanaunga-ā-Iwi
For the Yunited Voicez youth media project, 2009. Yunited Voicez is a multi media project based in Wellington, mixing the mediums of writing, radio, film, photography and online media, coordinated by ChangeMakers Refugee Forum partnering with Wellington Refugees as Survivors.
A November launch displayed the art produced by the young people, including a variety of prints; short films; a collection of written stories; and audio recordings, to be played on Wellington Access Radio. The works explore a wide range of topics, evidencing their experiences of diversity. Their candid stories are about their homelands, their journeys to Wellington and their adopted country, as well other areas they are interested in.
The project brought together a range of people and skills in a collaboration between the seven young people, ChangeMakers Refugee Forum, Wellington Refugees as Survivors, a collection of over 20 volunteers with technical media expertise, and a number of supporting organisations. The Yunited Voicez website contains much of the material produced, as well as links to the individual blogs of the young people. If you live in Wellington you can contact Tessa Johnstone to view and purchase the prints.
For ‘In the Shoes of Another’, 2009. This short film was created to highlight the day-to-day lived experience for everyone based upon their identity, or the shoes they walk in, and particularly people who are seen to be different from ‘the mainstream’.
The young people from the Hawkes Bay Intercultural Youth Group worked with artists Delicia Sampero to create parallel frames of their usual identity alongside their new assumed identity. The shots also feature the young people describing the way 'outsiders' reacted to their different appearance and their observations on these reactions.
Beginning with Tevivi from Rarotonga discussing his experience of being Mohammed- and the impact that a smile from a stranger amid hostile words can have- other shots include Leo as Melanie; Jessica from Fiji as Rodda from Africa; Guoda from Lithuania as Leila from Arabia; and Hawraa from Iraq as Stacey from America. The film reminds us of the diversity of humanity, and the danger of judging anyone based on their physical appearance. The initiative was supported by Napier City Council and Settlement Support Hawkes Bay, and will be launched by Napier Mayor, Barbara Arnott, on December 15. You can view the short film on Youtube.
For ‘Celebrations Around the World’ Exhibition, December 2009. The Tauranga Regional Multicultural Council and ethnic communities from Tauranga have been working to create the ‘Celebrations Around the World’ exhibition.
The exhibition will present a collection of festivals and celebrations from around the globe through a range of mediums, including posters, costume, diorama and videos, as the communities share their cultural traditions. The collection highlights the richness of the diversity in the area:
The exhibiters will also sell products from their countries, such as Italian food, Pacific Island baskets and Indian saris, and participants will be able to mix and mingle, learn and have fun. The exhibition will be opened by the Council's patron, Mayor Stuart Crosby, at 5.30pm (at the Creative Tauranga Community Gallery, 112 Willow Street). A member from each of the contributing communities dressed in their national costume will introduce their exhibit and answer any questions from the floor.
For multilingual Parkinson’s Awareness Week pamphlets, 2009. Inline with the 2009 Parkinson’s Awareness Week theme ‘Kōrero Mai- Speak to Me’, Parkinson’s New Zealand published its ‘An Introduction to Parkinson’s’ resource in the ten most commonly spoken languages in Aotearoa New Zealand.
As well as English and Te Reo Māori, the resource is also now available in Arabic, Hindi, Korean, Samoan, Spanish, Tongan, traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese. Parkinson's New Zealand emphasises that as Parkinson's can affect people of any age and ethnicity it is crucial that language is not a further barrier to people affected by the condition. The National Director explains, "A diagnosis of Parkinson's can be hard to comprehend and for people who speak little or no English it can be even more confusing, stressful and alienating."
The pamphlet contains a broad explanation of Parkinson's, including what it is; management of Parkinson's (including medical information); and the services provided by Parkinson's New Zealand. For a copy of the pamphlet you can contact any of the regional branches, or email the National Office.
For the Kororāreka Marae Society building opening, December 2009. The blessing and re-naming of the Kororāreka Marae Society building will be held on December 11, to be followed by Te Timatanga Exhibition of local and national artists.
The opening represents a milestone both in terms of a securing a space for the Kororāreka Marae Society to base itself, and in terms of community buy-in. While previous attempts to secure land and consent for the building of a marae in Russell divided the community the KMS space is now well-accepted by the same community. A 2006 public meeting facilitated by the Race Relations Commissioner as well as initiatives such as the Māori language course run by the KMS have built goodwill and support by the community; recent graduates and students of the course will attend the opening.
The former Department of Conservation building, fronting onto Russell beach will not be used as a marae, but as a space for the KMS to run conferences and courses, and for Māori artists to exhibit and market their arts and crafts, enabling the society greater financial autonomy. The building is seen as Stage 1 by the KMS, towards the Stage 2 establishment of a marae in Russell.
For ‘Parihaka Poi’ and the launch of the Deane Gallery, 2009. The Roderick and Gillian Deane Gallery opened in late September at City Gallery Wellington, with a kaupapa to showcase Māori and Pacific art.
Named after benefactors Roderick and Gillian Deane, the new gallery will provide up-to-date profiling of contemporary Māori and Pacific Island artists and their work, with a national focus. According to Reuben Friend, Curator in Māori and Pacific Art at City Gallery, "It's an amazing opportunity to showcase the best contemporary Māori and Pacific artists, but also to create exhibitions that challenge our understanding of indigenous arts forms."
Parihaka artist Ngaahina Hohaia, of Ngati Moeahu and Ngati Haupoto, has created hundreds of embroided poi to reflect on the interactions between the people of Parihaka and the colonial forces in the late 19th century. Her main work 'Roimata Toroa' (Tears of the Albatross) consists of 392 poi embroided with symbols of the Parihaka community's passive resistance against Government troops. In the vein of the rest of her collection Roimata Toroa honours Parihaka leaders, Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi, and their vision of building a peaceful relationship between Māori and Pakeha; it employs a range of symbols including toroa feathers and New Zealand wool. The artwork of Ngaahina Hohaia will be on display until January 10, 2010.
Visit the Deane Gallery page to find out more.
For the CAFÉ Festival, November 2009. A crowd of around 400 came together to celebrate Gisborne’s diversity at the November CAFÉ Festival (CAFÉ = Culture, Arts and Food Experience).
Those at the festival enjoyed great sunshine, a combination of ethnic food stalls from Texas ribs to Tibetan sugar straws, and a range of cultural entertainment. Mayor Meng Foon, surf lifesaving champion Matt Sutton and NZ longboard champion, Daniel Proctor drew in a cook-off to create the best chicken stirfry, based on a recipe provided by the SuperGrans. The entertainment lineup included the local Tongan Dance Group playing with members from Auckland; Highland, Bollywood and Belly Dancing Line dancers; Manutuke Kapa Haka; and a Sunsmart fashion parade of sunhats.
The Gisborne CAFÉ Festival celebrates Gisborne's diversity and welcomes newcomers to the area. It fosters belonging to a 'beloved community' a description by Martin Luther King as a community that provides equal opportunities and justice for all, built upon a solid formation of brotherly love. Visit the Gisborne Herald's photo gallery to see more!
For “The Last Farewell“, November 2009. In a compassionate four page feature on New Zealand families grieving for loved ones who died in the sinking of the Tongan ferry Princess Ashika, Vaimoana Tapaleao highlighted the strong familial ties between New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, and the way the pain of this Pacific tragedy directly impacted on New Zealand.
She interviewed families in New Zealand who told their stories and spoke about their grief. Vaimoana was also the Herald reporter who covered the Pacific tsunami in September. In recognition of the large Pacific component of its Auckland market, the Herald also for the first time published stories in Samoan at the time of the tsunami.
For “The Changing Face of Dairying”, August 2009. The Timaru-based Courier Country, which has a circulation of about 15,000 and is distributed free to all RD boxholders from Moeraki in rural North Otago to the Waimakariri River, published a 13 page feature in August on the changing face of dairying in the South.
There were a wide range of stories by reporters Ruth Grundy and Graeme Stilwell on the importance of migrant workers to the dairying industry, the problems of abuse that some of them have experienced, the reasons farmers welcome them, how schools are responding to the needs of their children, agencies that support them, and other aspects of the changing demographics of our rural communities.
One of the writers, Ruth Grundy, received an award in November for her contribution to the feature in the annual ERDA awards (Excellence in Reporting Diversity), but the judges were also impressed with the overall coverage by the paper and the stories written by her fellow journalist Graeme Stilwell. Other award winners were Adrian Stevanon, of TVNZ's Tagata Pasifika; Rebecca Todd, the Press, Christchurch; Michelle McCullough, Dunedin Star; Tasha Black, NewsWire; and Carolyn Thomas, Western Leader.
For strengthening NZ Police relationships with ethnic communities, 2003- 2009. Kefeng Chu is leaving NZ Police national headquarters after nearly seven years service as their first Strategic Ethnic Advisor.
In that time he has led the development and implementation of the Police's first ethnic relationships strategy. Initiatives have included the appointment of Asian liaison officers around the country, the production of a multilingual phrasebook for frontline police, a handbook on religious diversity, multicultural training for managers and staff, guidelines on dealing with hate crime, police sponsorship of the national ethnic communities football tournament and the secondary schools race unity speech competition, to name a few.
Through him the Police have been an active participant in the New Zealand Diversity Action Programme and a carved pou pou of the Diversity Fern representing New Zealand's diverse communities now stands alongside pou pou representing the various iwi regions at the NZ Police College. He facilitated Memoranda of Understanding with a number of community organisations, most recently with the Federation of Islamic Associations. He takes up a new position in NZ Trade and Enterprise as Manager of Operations in China next week.
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