Organised by the Korean Society of Auckland, this year’s event is special as it also mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between New Zealand and Korea.

Event highlights included cultural performances and ethnic food stalls. It also showcased a poster making competition from Korean schools in Auckland.  One of the winners was Yea Eun Lim, who has drawn a poster depicting a Korean girl and Maori girl doing a hongi.

Details have just been published in the March issue of the NZ Journal of Primary Health Care.

“New Zealand is now very much a multicultural society, and increasingly GPs and other health professionals are managing patients who have limited or very little English,” says Dr Gray.

“If they don’t understand one another clearly, both doctor and patient are at risk in terms of best diagnosis, and meeting the requirements of the Health and Disability Code.”

For years Dr Gray worked at the Newtown Union Health Centre in Wellington, treating patients from over 20 countries, where it was relatively common to use interpreters. But his research shows this is unusual, and too many health professionals are still trying to ‘muddle through’ in a rapidly changing cultural environment.

The comprehensive interpreter toolkit, informed by evidence-based research and Dr Gray’s wide experience in this area, has been supported by the Royal NZ College of General Practitioners. It sets out a series of flow charts, scenarios and information boxes to improve communication with limited English patients, and is available through the College.

“We’re hoping this toolkit will be the start of a cultural change, where health professionals recognise that every consultation with limited English patients requires clinical judgment on the quality of interpreting needed.”

“To facilitate the use of interpreters it is also vital that District Health Boards, as is happening in Auckland, provide some funding for interpreter use for primary care services and in areas such as Emergency Departments.”

The RNZCGP is the professional body which provides training and ongoing professional development for general practitioners and rural hospital generalists, and sets standards for general practice.

To mark this, a number of events are being held throughout the year, including the premiere screening of the documentary Inside Outward Bound: The New Zealand Journey at the Park Road Post production Miramar in Wellington on 19 April. The film provides a rare behind-the-scenes look at the daily triumphs and struggles that take place on an Outward Bound course.

Established in 1962, Outward Bound still operates from its original location, Anakiwa, in the Marlborough Sounds. It is the leading organisation in New Zealand for showing people their full potential through challenges and adventures in the outdoors. The vision of Outward Bound is simply stated as helping the development of “Better People, Better Communities and a Better World.” As part of this vision Outward Bound has in recent years offered an annual multi ethnic course for young Aucklanders, in partnership with the Human Rights Commission, as well as an Aoraki Bound course in partnership with Nga Tahu.  Over 200 participants of Maori, Pakeha, Pacific, and other ethnic descent have completed these programmes since 2004.

The project was to create and base a waka at the museum and to build a relationship between Toi Māori Aotearoa, the museum and the local university rowing club that is envisaged to last for the next 100 years. The film, with a great soundscape from Warren Maxwell, documents the comissioning, the making (by master carver Hector Busby), the launch and the emotional handover of the waka to the museum in Leiden in 2010. It follows the waka’s journey as it becomes Toi Māori’s waka for Europe and has its inaugural journey on the river Thames. The Dutch rowers were trained in tikanga, and some came to Waitangi in 2011 to row in the ceremonial waka on Waitangi Day. Beautiful footage of the making of the waka  Ngatokimatawhaorua in the late 30s was generously given by the Turangawaewae Trust Board for incorporation into the film. The finishing touch is the making of the very impressive wharewaka in Leiden by a small team of carvers led by Dr. Takirirangi Smith.

Given a front row seat from the earliest negotiations through to the handing over, Jan Bieringa is alert to the different ways in which so many on the project, young and old, Māori and Dutch, inhabit the rituals that invest meaning in the work. With all due tact and admiration her film marks the generation of something deeply stirring: a taonga destined never to return but to make Aotearoa manifest on European waters.

The film had its premiere at the World Cinema Showcase in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin in April-May. The audience in Wellington, with strong representation of both Dutch and Māori, burst into applause at the end in recognition of both the film maker, who was present, and the story she told.

The council has willingly shared its positive experience of Māori representation with other councils, who have nevertheless in most cases rejected the idea or left it to polls of local electors to decide. Through its bicultural composition, the council has developed a great deal of experience over recent years in Māori policy development, and in April brought together 180 people from local government, iwi and elsewhere to further develop ideas on building Māori capability, particularly in a post-Treaty settlement environment. At the symposium, called Te Tōanga Mai o te Rā, keynote speaker and former Waitangi Tribunal chair Judge Joe Williams set the scene with reflections on the WAI 262 Waitangi Tribunal report, Ko Aotearoa Tēnei, Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres and Auckland University Professor Anne Sullivan spoke about Māori representation in local government, Te Mana o Ngati Rangitihi Trust Chief Executive Nick Alexander outlined the Trust’s partnership strategies, and former Ngai Tahu manager Sacha McMeeking talked about the Māori economy. Council chair John Cronin was delighted with the high turnout and reaffirmed the council’s commitment to effective relationships with Māori and the continuation of Māori representation, and acknowledged the contribution of Māori constituency councillors Raewyn Bennett, Tipene Marr, and Tai Eru. Further information and copies of presentations are available on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council website.

Dominion Road: The Shifting Urbanscape is a series of photographs by Dr King Tong Ho, Senior Lecturer in Graphics at AUT, that depicts the shops and street life often overlooked by commuters, focusing on details that give the road its individual character. The exhibition is located at the Board’s Dominion Road office. Accompanying each photograph are Dr Ho’s impressions, in English and Chinese.

Dr Ho teaches photography at Auckland University of Technology, and is the postgraduate coordinator of Asian students and co-strand leader (graphic). He worked extensively in the photography and advertising industries in Hong Kong before shifting to academic teaching and research.

Albert-Eden Local Board Member Helga Arlington says the office, itself on Dominion Road, is the ideal location for the exhibition. “Not only does the exhibition provide a fabulous opportunity to view and consider the changing nature of the Albert-Eden area, it gives the local board a great chance to meet more people from our community,” she says.

This free exhibition opened on 23 April and runs through to 17 June. It is available to view on weekdays from 8.30am to 5pm at 135 Dominion Road, Mt Eden. Call the local board office on 09 623 6090 for more information or email Mary Tolich.

The main purpose of the report is to highlight key issues for migrants and to identify needs, gaps in services and suggestions for further action. More than 80 migrants contributed to the study, which involved 20 focus groups and 21 different ethnic communities.

Settling In Eastern Southland project manager Brigid Ryan said there was concern not enough was known about how well migrants were doing.

“The migrants in this area are, on the whole, incredibly positive about their new home and very grateful for the opportunities available to them here.” But the study found more could be done.

Gore District Mayor Tracy Hicks said there were about 24 different ethnicities in Gore and plenty continued to arrive.

Mr Hicks said a good web presence was important and information including transport, education and health needed to be more accessible.

“They come here to carve a new life … I can’t get over the enthusiasm some of them have about becoming citizens. It’s a joy to watch,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister, and MP for Clutha-Southland, the Honourable Bill English was the key speaker at the launch and he too welcomed the positive contribution that migrants are making in Southland and was particularly interested to read the direct quotes from migrants which have helped to shape the report.

A copy of the Settling In Eastern Southland Report is available on the Human Rights Commission website.

Two more Settling In reports are due to be launched in two more South Island communities this year. The launch for Settling In Dunedin report is scheduled for 22 May at George St Normal School. A date is yet to be set for Settling In Waitaki.

Told from a uniquely Pacific perspective, this illustrated history is the first of its kind to tell their stories – from the legendary feats of the ancestors of modern Māori, to the politically explosive dawn raids of the 1970s, and beyond.

Edited by Senior Curator Pacific Cultures Sean Mallon, Kolokesa Mahina-Tuai, former curator, and Damon Salesa, Associate Professor of Pacific Studies at University of Auckland, the book has emerged from ten years of research by fourteen scholars.

This book includes illustrations of historical and contemporary photos and archival documents. Drawing on a rich cache of oral history, it is a fresh and surprising record of over a thousand years of discovery, encounter, and cultural exchange.

The book will be launched at the University of Auckland on Thursday 3 May and at Te Papa on Thursday 10 May. It is available for purchase for $79.99; more information can be found at the Te Papa Press website.

Excerpts from the book can be found online.

The Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) has had information brochures and factsheets translated into Chinese, Korean and Samoan.

SCIRT General Manager Duncan Gibb recognises that as Christchurch is culturally and linguistically diverse city, there is a clear need to translate the key information.

“Our work will impact on thousands of people and our goal is for everyone to be able to access information about the rebuild.

“People have different preferences for how they receive information about the rebuild. We recognise Christchurch is culturally and linguistically diverse so there is a clear need to translate some of the key information. Translating fact sheets is just one of the ways that we are reaching out to the people of Christchurch.”

Christchurch Migrants Centre Manager Rex Gibson says he is delighted that the material has been translated. “I think it’s fantastic that an organisation like SCIRT is moving in this direction. There are 38,000 people in Christchurch from a non-English speaking background and they deserve the opportunity to understand what’s going on.”

Translated brochures are available from the Rewi Alley Cultural and Education Centre, Aranui Community Trust, Christchurch Migrants Centre or from Christchurch City Council Service Centres. SCIRT also provides regular updates in local newspapers and a Chinese language version in the Asian Media newspaper.

SCIRT is a partnership between the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, Christchurch City Council, New Zealand Transport Agency and five key contractors. It is tasked with rebuilding the city’s roads, fresh water, waste water and storm water networks. Information about all of the SCIRT projects underway is available on the website.

Brochures and factsheets translated into Chinese, Korean and Samoan

The project “Volunteer Ryugaku” is aimed at getting Japanese students and visitors involved in volunteering in the wider Christchurch community and learning about and sharing their and our cultures along the way.

The project aims to attract students from Japanese universities, people wanting a slightly more meaningful study abroad experience, people displaced by the earthquake – tsunami – radiation disaster, or just people wanting a purely volunteer abroad trip as cheaply as possible. The students will come to Christchurch where they will be doing 3 main things: Learning English, learning about the SVA’s operation and doing practical volunteer work. Depending on factors such as their length of stay, English ability, health or physical fitness; each student’s program may be a little different.

The project has had one successful participant who has gone on to volunteer in Japan when she went back, at least 3 students are currently lined up to participate in the next SVA activity as well.

A short promotional video has been produced in association with “Greening the Rubble”.

Parishioner Maria Rodgers came up with the idea of having a visual representation of the cultural richness of the parish community, as there was nothing in the church to represent this. “We decided to incorporate representations of the cultures into what was already there – we in effect ‘reframed’ the existing Stations of the Cross.”  The communities were asked to provide a fabric that represented their culture. The fabrics were then stretched across a backing on which each of the original images was mounted.

The “new” Stations of the Cross represent 14 different communities: Māori, Samoan, Rwandan, Goan, Croatian, Cook Island, Irish, Scottish, Filipino, Hungarian, Tokelauan, Polish, Kerala and Tongan. Each donated fabric has a story, and it is intended to capture these and publish them in a brochure so that they are not lost. The next part of the project is to install a plaque with an explanation of each Station in the country’s language.

The newly renovated church now also displays the communities’ diversity in windows in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel with the words “Be still and know that I am God” in the different languages of the communities represented in the new Stations of the Cross.

Lay Pastoral Leader Karen Holland says, “We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Maria Rodgers who has spent hours of her time sewing consulting, listening, measuring, stapling and generally making sure that this project happened. It has been a labour of love and one that will bring joy to our community for many years.”

St Anne’s Parish covers some of the inner suburbs of the Wellington city. It is nestled in a valley between Mt Victoria and the Brooklyn hills. It has boundaries with Te Aro in the north – Mt Victoria and Kilbirnie to the east – Island Bay to the south and Brooklyn to the west.

The festival has its origins in a refugee-focused annual festival held for many years at Potters Park in Mt Eden, a venue it has outgrown in recent years as more and more organisations and entertainers have become involved. This year’s festival was the biggest yet, with hundreds of performers on a range of stages and thousands of visitors. Highlights included an astonishing array of foods from around the world, the Sounds of Indonesia with the Auckland Gamelan Orchestra and Wayang Shadow Puppets, and the Loy Krathong Wisahing Stream, an elaborate Thai interactive display. Ethnic Affairs Minister Judith Collins, Auckland Mayor Len Brown, Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres and other VIP guests joined the Burundi drummers for a performance at the opening ceremony (with best drummer going to Opposition Leader David Shearer). The Human Rights Commission hosted a lunch for invited guests (including former Race Relations Conciliators/Commissioners and associates) to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the coming into force of the first Race Relations Act on the very day of the festival. A number of organisations combined for a “World Story Telling Corner” programme featuring migration stories, winning speakers from the Secondary Schools Race Unity Speech Competition, and Nga Tangata Hou, a group of “New Zealanders” mainly from Asia singing Maori waiata in a heart-warming performance. The group was filmed at the festival for a forthcoming episode of TVNZ’s new series Neighbourhood. The festival was also the venue for the annual Ethnic Soccer Cup.

The idea is to provide an opportunity for Maori, Pacific and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities in Christchurch to be involved in creating a special place which reflects their culture, creates a sense of belonging and increases connectedness in a city of change.

Healthy Christchurch is leading the project in collaboration with Lincoln University and Greening the Rubble. The project working group also covers representation from the Christchurch Multicultural Council, Christchurch Migrants Centre, Christchurch Resettlement Services, Living Streets Aotearoa, Christchurch Garden City Trust, Festival of Flowers, Community & Public Health and Partnership Health Canterbury. Other supporting organisations include the CERA Wellbeing Team, Avon-Otakaro Network and the Canterbury District Health Board.

Project partner Lincoln University School of Landscape Architecture is hosting a student competition in Semester 1, 2012 for six sites utilising different philosophies, religions, kaupapa to enhance space and open areas for healing our spirits and wellbeing. Each site is one of six geographical groups, these are as follows:

• Africa e.g. Somalia and Ethiopia
• Europe and Russia
• North & West Asia e.g. Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bhutan and Nepal
• South & East Asia e.g. Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia
• Latin America
• Pacific e.g. Pacifica and Maori

These gardens are temporary but may become a valuable part of the potential red zone river parks in the future.

More information is available on the Healthy Christchurch website.

Fruitvale is a decile 4 school where 33 % of the students are Pasifika, 29% Asian, 20% Māori, 16 % Pākehā, and where children of many other ethnicities attend as well.

The competition encourages year 1–8 students and their communities to think deeply about how children get to school safely and how to do so actively. Sione’s First Walk to School / ʽO le Uluaʽi Sāvaliga a Sione ʽi le Āʽoga is a picture book written and illustrated by Caprice, Chansys, Natalie, Odille, and Sana. 

The story came from an idea to follow five-year-old Sione on his very first walk to school. Sione’s older brother and sister walked with him, but did the three children make good choices about how to get to school safely? The answer is an engaging and wonderfully creative non-fiction picture book in which the text is in two languages, English and Samoan.

The  five young author-illustrators were supported and encouraged by Hine Viskovich, the school’s deputy principal, and by one of the school’s Samoan parents, Paula Punipuao Apulu Singh.

The book was launched on 23 March. Students in junior classes, in particular, will be thrilled with this new addition to New Zealand’s multilingual children’s literature. The underlying safety messages are well presented.

Find out more about Sione’s First Walk to School / ʽO le Uluaʽi Sāvaliga a Sione ʽi le Āʽoga online.

The hosts shared the origins of race relations in New Zealand and the Human Rights Commission’s Race Relations Report’s “top ten priorities for 2012″ to their listeners.  Generation Y radio show on Planet FM has a focus on young people.   It examines community views on health, employment, politics, environment and current events that impact on the younger generation to  the sound track of inspiring, motivating and original underground music from across the globe. The show commenced in April 2011 with hosts Gibran Janif, Tevita Tuipulotu and Chris Levet, who were joined by Aaron Laloyer, Junior Rokose, Dennis Tuisamoa, Wilbur Jeftha and Tash Kadir later in the year.   The hosts for Generation Y are from diverse ethnic communities from Fiji, South Africa, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.   Generation Y is an hour long show, on air late Tuesday evenings.

Indu initiated culturally appropriate services for older people in 1994 under the umbrella of the Methodist Mission Northern. At the time she came in contact with several older migrants of Indian descent who seemed to be facing difficulties in adjusting to New Zealand society due to barriers. Indu has since made a significant contribution to the well being and enhancement of quality of life for senior citizens from diverse backgrounds. She has worked tirelessly to build SNCT and leaves the service in excellent shape.

Originally from India Indu migrated to New Zealand about 40 years ago from Kenya. She worked as social worker for many years with various government and voluntary agencies before establishing SNCT. She was awarded the “Queens Service Medal” for community services in 2001.

The first, the Culture Galore Festival, organised by the Christchurch City Council and the Fendalton/Waimairi and Riccarton/Wigram Community Boards on Saturday 10, attracted the usual crowd of thousands of Cantabrians, for whom this festival has become an annual tradition.  This was followed on Sunday 11 by Christchurch’s first ever Japan Day, organised by the Japanese Society of Canterbury, which further attracted an estimated 15,000 people.

Japan Day celebrated the 20^th anniversary of the Japanese Society, which was founded in 1992. The festival included Japanese drums, food stalls, exhibitions and a kimono fashion show. Unique to the event was an Anime cafe, where 2011 NZ barista champion, Hide Kono took part by making coffee with a siphon. This method of coffee has regained popularity in Japan. There were also Japanese Anime Cosplay competitors at the cafe where people could vote for their favourite character.

The festival also recognised the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between New Zealand and Japan and commemorated the great loss of life and extensive damage caused by the Christchurch and East Japan Earthquakes. The event was made possible by the support of The Japanese Society of Canterbury, “Canterbury Japan Day 2012″ Organising Committee and Consular Office of Japan in Christchurch.

Checkout Canterbury Japan Day 2012 on Facebook for more photos and event highlights.

As part of the public education programme prior to the change, the NZ Transport agency developed a range of resources. These included leaflets in 13 different languages: Māori, Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Thai, Arabic, Samoan, Tongan, Gujarati, Hindi and Punjabi. The leaflets are available to download from the NZTA website.

Services include professional translation of documents from English to NZSL, and of NZSL messages to English via an innovative online video recording system. Seeflow also offer a grammar checking and proof reading service, as well as “NZSL Letter” which enables organisations and Government departments to send translations of public information, or private correspondence via a secure system.

Seeflow was developed and is run by Deafradio, a Deaf-led company with other services including Multichannel Media who have worked on a number of large translation projects, as well as on the NZSL Curriculum project. Partnering with Connect Interpreting, who specialise in developing specialist NZSL Interpreting services, the combination aims to make NZSL translation commonplace, resulting in a more NZSL accessible society.

Deafradio Creative Director Sonia Pivac says “during our work on the larger translation projects, we began to appreciate that access issues for Deaf people are mostly smaller items of written material – letters from the hospital, newsletters from a club or brochures about government services. Even emails from the boss can create access issues, as well as creating emails or reports when your first language is NZSL. So we decided to try and address this by developing a streamlined dedicated service for enabling access to these everyday requirements. Our hope is that when these little things are addressed, Deaf people will be able to dramatically increase their independence and participation in parts of society that matter to them”.

Seeflow, the first translation service of its kind in the world, is now online.  Registration is free, as is signing up for their newsletter, which includes public announcements.

The Waitakere Indian Association has worked hard to promote diversity in their area and the Holi Mela has developed into an event not only for the Indian community but also for wider New Zealand community, with thousands of people attending every year.  This year, despite the wet and windy weather, over 15,000 festival goers celebrated with prayer, food, fireworks, dance, music and by throwing coloured paint and water at each other. The use of coloured water and powder is intended to colour all people in one colour, transcending race, colour and creed to signify that they all are equal. The Festival also celebrated Race Relations Day.

The event featured inspiring speeches by two of the Wellington finalists in the Secondary Schools Race Unity Speech Awards, Rima Shenoy from Queen Margaret College and Nera Tamara Tautau from St Catherine’s College. Rima went on to win the national title at the finals in Auckland on 31 March. In line with this year’s theme “A Fair Go for All”, some of those present were asked to say what, in terms of race relations in New Zealand, did having a fair go mean for them. Their comments were recorded and posted on the Office of Ethnic Affairs   YouTube channel. Minister Judith Collins commented in this month’s OEA newsletter:

“It was a privilege to attend celebrations for Race Relations Day at the Office of Ethnic Affairs recently. I particularly acknowledge Rima Shenoy and Nera Tamara Tautau – Wellington regional finalists for the Race Unity Speech Awards – for their outstanding contribution to the evening’s events.

The theme for this year’s Race Relations Day was ‘Aotearoa – a fair go for all.’ Regardless of a person’s background, race or religion all New Zealanders are entitled to ‘a fair go’. Our diversity is part of our national identity and this we acknowledge and celebrate.

The Government’s work in this regard includes progress towards the settlement of Treaty of Waitangi claims; the establishment of a taskforce for Action on Violence within Families; and the modernisation of New Zealand’s immigration laws. On the world stage, New Zealand has a good reputation for social harmony. The Government values this reputation. We are working hard, through agencies like the Office of Ethnic Affairs, to maintain our tradition of welcoming migrants, and of having a peaceful nation. Of course we can’t do it alone. It is up to individuals and our communities to welcome newcomers to our country, to ensure all people are included in all aspects of life here, and to ensure that everyone has ‘a fair go’.

We must continue to embrace our ‘Kiwi’ ideals of respect, honesty, and a strong sense of right and wrong. We need to be proud of these ideals and work hard to protect them. Because they are part of what makes New Zealand a great place to live.”

The overview is published in the Human Rights Commission’s annual Race Relations Report and on the Centre’s website.

This year’s overview was prepared by Sana Oshika from the School of Psychology at Victoria University. The overview includes an introduction from Professor James Liu of the CACR about the three key challenges for race relations and diversity research: racism and discrimination, the Treaty of Waitangi and the integration of migrants, and cross-sector integration of research practices and thematic research dissemination.

The overview is now available on the Commission’s website, along with other pre-released chapters of the report including on the Treaty relationship and discrimination and harassment. The full report will be launched at a function hosted by Auckland Mayor Len Brown and Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres at the Auckland Council on Thursday 8 March. The purpose of the report is to promote discussion in advance of Race Relations Day, 21 March. The theme for this year is “A Fair Go for All” and the Human Rights Commission has produced an attractive poster for the day featuring the theme.

To request posters email Infoline@hrc.co.nz. For more information about the launch or to RSVP, contact Josie Maskell on 09 306 2655.

It appropriately coincides with the run-up to the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 21 March, marked in New Zealand as Race Relations Day.

What do you mean, we? groups together an international selection of artists to examine prejudice in its various forms. Selected artists employ a range of innovative strategies from psychoanalysis to voluntary homelessness to expose or even transcend discrimination. The group exhibition of ten artists from around the world ranging from a white American artist who works as a massage therapist talking direct to camera about his self reflexive anxieties of massaging a black man, to a Danish Artist who in a canvas-covered 1961 Piper aircraft made a film about her 7 month trip flying to Kabul to find a young woman who wanted to fly after reading about it in a newspaper.

Curator Bruce Philips has spent the last year bringing all the artists together for the exhibition. “All the artists are employing unusual approaches to tackle the age-old issue of prejudice”, he explains. “There isn’t one single issue or specific finger pointing; rather the exhibition focuses on what causes prejudice in us all, broaching the topic in humorous and inventive ways. This show helps us look at ourselves in a non confrontational way, and is a step towards understanding and tolerance in our multi-cultural and global age.”

Performance artist Kalisolaite Uhlia will live in the grounds of Te Tuhi as part of the exhibition. For two weeks from March 19, Uhlia will shed his regular life and rough it outside to gain a greater understanding of what it might mean to be homeless. Uhlia will survive on the generosity of a food bank being set up in the gallery and will have only enough belongings to fit into a supermarket trolley.

 Te Tuhi is situated at 13 Reeves Rd, Pakuranga.

Sarah and Samantha are pupils from Yaldhurst Model School, located on the Western outskirts of Christchurch. It is a primary school with students from Year 1 to Year 8. The school is renowned for its friendly atmosphere and thriving learning culture. The current roll is 115 and growing.

Principal Allan Robertson said, “Children are invited to celebrate all aspects of their lives within the school environment. The size of the school means that everyone knows and respects everyone. With this respect comes a sincere desire to be able to celebrate the learning of all of our students.”

NZ Sign Language is promoted through the school and is incorporated into school events. The NZ sign Language learning programme focuses on the class that a deaf child is in. As a result the children in that class are steadily becoming multi-lingual.  The school also promotes cultural diversity and is evident in the school’s weekly assemblies wherein senior students greet the school and guests alike in te Reo, then  sing the National Anthem in both Te Reo and English while signing simultaneously. 

The camp participants were from migrant or refugee backgrounds and included Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Bhutanese, Somalian, Ethiopian, and Afghan Hazara. Kevin Park, Community Liaison Manager at the Christchurch Migrants Centre, coordinated the nominations. The daily programme included target shooting, archery, flying fox, abseiling, kayaking, boating, yachting, tramping, sheep shearing, swimming and a train trip on the Taieri Gorge railway.  The final night’s gathering, before the group returned to Christchurch, was the highlight of the camp. The attendees showed their appreciation to the sponsors and volunteers in words, songs, dancing, or cultural performances.

Girdhari Kadariya, said highlights were “kayaking, swimming, climbing and shooting, visiting the wider Dunedin area and sheep shearing. They were all really great.” Students he works with at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of technology, learned  many things from the visit, and the stressed families especially appreciated the warmth and hospitality of the Otago Youth trust who were running the Lodge.

The camp played a significant role in motivating the groups of people to cope in the aftermath of the quakes and it also brought them together to gain self-awareness in the care of other people. Above all, the camp gave both participants in the camp, and the Kiwi volunteers, a perspective on the diverse cultural environment in New Zealand society today. The camp organisers are keen to hold another such programme next year if sponsors can be obtained.

National and local politicians and other dignitaries were doused in coloured powder, with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters in his immaculate suit protesting he had to go to a wedding later in the afternoon. That was not enough to prevent his face from being smeared with bright colours by the former Leader of the Opposition Phil Goff. Parliamentary Undersecretary for Ethnic Affairs Melissa Lee, Auckland Councillor Alf Filipaina and MP Rajen Prasad were among the most enthusiastic colourers as they toured the dancing crowds of young people celebrating the occasion.

Humm FM broadcasts from Auckland’s Sky Tower and aims to meet the aspirations and cultural needs of the South Asian Community at large, providing a platform for Indian and Asian voices and community issues.  Bhartiya Samaj was established in 1995 and aims, to bring together people of Indian origin living in New Zealand and to cater to the social, cultural and emotional needs of the Indian Community. Its activities include senior citizens’ meetings, classes and camps for young people, social services and the celebration of Indian festivals.

To start with, there will be a series of beginners and advanced language and culture classes, including te reo Māori, Samoan, Cook Islands Māori, and Tokelau. Over 100 registrations have already been received. Porirua College has long been a champion of Māori and Pacific languages, being the first to require all students to learn at least one of these languages. At the launch, Principal Susanne Jungersen emphasised that language learning not only nurtured culture and identity but also contributed to general learning and educational achievement.

One is a quick reference pack called “The Employer Toolkit”, which contains ten handy flip cards highlighting the differences in communication styles between New Zealanders and people from other cultures that can contribute to mistaken first impressions. Tips and information on the reverse of each card point to solutions that offer guidance for employers. The other is a “Guide for Newcomers”, an 8 page fold-out booklet which introduces the most common points of communication difference for most new migrants. Immigration New Zealand notes that understanding the basic building blocks of informal communication in New Zealand can greatly reduce workplace misunderstanding, and provide both new migrants and other employees with confidence that they are understood. According to research conducted by them, most employers of skilled migrants are very positive about the skills and productivity of new migrants.  However, over time about a quarter of these skilled migrants leave New Zealand. One reason why they do so is their failure to adjust to living and working in New Zealand. It can also be difficult for an employer to adjust to working with staff from another country. Employer response to the new workplace tools has been positive, welcoming the easy to use format to convey information. The two resources are available to download on the Immigration New Zealand website.

It is currently taking part in Connect2sport, an Active Communities project funded by Sport New Zealand and partnered by Auckland Council, Sport Auckland, Auckland Football Federation and Auckland Badminton Federation.  Connect2sport aims to connect young people from diverse communities to football and badminton. Metro FC hosted one of the first Connect2sport “Have a Go” events on Sunday 26 February, offering diverse communities and their families the chance to get to know the club and participate in a variety of football activity in a fun and friendly environment. More than 40 players and their families turned up to take part in activities, which was greatly appreciated by the local community members that came along.

TV1 cameras were on board on the day to capture footage for a new series that focuses on how a diverse ethnic community is embracing a new ‘neighbourhood’. This series is expected to air in April, with Connect2sport featuring in a special episode dedicated to the Mt Roskill neighbourhood.

The next “Have a Go” event will be held on Sunday 17 March between 5.30pm to 7.30pm at Lynfield Recreation & youth centre. This is a women’s only session which will offer both football and badminton opportunities for women from diverse communities and will connect participants with Connect2sport women’s only leagues. The ‘have a go’ session is free and open to all women in the Mt Roskill community.

Wellington welcomed the Xiamen Sing and Dance Troupe, the headline act throughout the Festival, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Wellington’s sister-city relationship with Xiamen. Wellington’s night sky was lit up in a dazzling display of fireworks on Saturday 11 February, supported by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to mark 40 years of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand.

More than 30,000 people joined the different activities for the weekend’s events. Activities included: New Clothes for the New Year Fashion & Dance Show, Fireworks Display, Festival Day comprising an Asian Market, Street Parade, Cultural Entertainment and Xiamen Performing Arts Group Concert Mayor Celia Wade-Brown said,” “We are proud of our sister city relationships with Beijing and Xiamen, and Friendly City agreement with Tianjin. They are links that we cherish, and continue to foster because they enhance our economic opportunities and provide an opportunity to share our cultural talents.”

“I particularly enjoyed the Taniwha Loong ( dragon) performance, choreographed by Tanemahuta Gray  to kick off the festival day in grand style. It was a fusion of Maori and Chinese culture and also recognition of the resonance between our cultures, such as our appreciation for jade – pounamu, and respect ancestors.”

Linda Lim, Programme Director for the Chinese New Year Festival said it was the biggest and best festival yet. “It was most heartening to see all of Wellington participating, all cultures and not just Chinese people. We believe the festival is about sharing our cultures and its events such as this lead to better understandings and breaking down barriers. It was a celebration for all of Wellington, the whole community was there.”

Major supporters of the event were Wellington City Council, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, Asia New Zealand Foundation and Wellington Xiamen Association.

The forum, which has been held annually since 2003, brings together regional interfaith groups, faith community leaders, academics and human rights advocates to tackle the issues of interfaith dialogue and cooperation. Over 200 people attended all or part of the forum, which also included associated forums for youth, men and women.  Keynote speakers were Dr Anna Halafoff from Melbourne, and religious broadcaster Chris Nichol.  There were a wide range of concurrent sessions on diversity, spirituality, education, human rights, pluralism and tolerance, and religion and the state. Other highlights included an interfaith film fest, a bus tour of diverse Hamilton faith centres, a preview of a new DVD of young people of different faiths speaking about the media (being produced by the National Commission for UNESCO and the Diversity Action Programme), the release of the Human Rights Commission’s annual review of religious diversity and the launch of guidelines on religious diversity in the workplace. Presentations from the conference will be posted on the Waikato Interfaith Council’s website shortly.

Speaking at the launch, the Cook Islands High Commissioner emphasised the link between language and identity:  ”Maintaining the language means encompassing of all other characteristics or traits of our identity..you must show some degree of pride in being a Cook Islander. If we have this feeling and attitude we will achieve the aims and goals of this language project.” 

The Programme, which is due to commence at Porirua College this year, is initially targeted at parents of children learning the language at Toru Fetu kindergarten,  Porirua College and other schools in the area so that they can support their children, but is also open to other adults. Over 100 people have registered with the Programme, and a number of them spoke movingly at the celebration about why they had decided to learn their traditional language.  The initiative for the Programme came from the Porirua Cook Islands Association, who set up a language committee (Komiti Reo) last year and met with the Director General of Education and the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs to discuss their concerns and plans. They also made an approach to Porirua College to use one of their buildings for a “community college” where language classes could be held. The group is overwhelmed with the level of interest in the course and will shortly publish a language resource that can be used by parents and children together to learn the language. They are promoting the family as the place where the language needs to be learnt and used, supported by schools, the community college, churches and the Cook Islands radio programme Radio Ivanui.  The Association is also planning to hold a Cook Islands Maori Language Week in September, and have started a Facebook page to publicise the event.

Hong Kong born director Perry So has returned to lead the orchestra.  This year’s concert features the Yellow River Cantata composed by Xian Xinghai in 1939 and recomposed as a piano concerto during the Cultural Revolution, which has become one of China’s most beloved compositions. This immense musical landscape, bursting with joyous folk melodies and the vitality and might of China’s great Yellow River, is brought to life by the virtuosity of soloist John Chen, one of New Zealand’s most exciting talents

As part of a cross-cultural mélange, the concert also includes Ross Harris’ The Floating Bride, The Crimson Village, inspired by the visions of Marc Chagall and the poetry of Vincent O’Sullivan, and Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. As the publicity says: The Chinese New Year is a festival that celebrates the arrival of spring, and no symphony better captures the wonder of nature and her changeable moods than the Pastoral Symphony.  With music that is blissful, lazy, thunderous and heartfelt, it is a triumphant work to welcome in the Year of the Dragon.

The poster features the statement “Aotearoa, we all belong” in 30 different languages spoken in New Zealand, along with a space to add the words in your own language if it is not already included. The poster complements the Human Rights Commission’s Race Relations Day poster, which also features the word “Aotearoa” with the tag line “A fair go for all: Rite tahi tatou katoa”.  

Says Nicola Sutton, Chief Executive of English Language Partners:  “There are so many ethnicities in our country today; together we all make up the unique place that is our New Zealand. The map’s different written forms represent us as a nation in a creative and colourful way.”

Sunita Narayan, President of CLANZ says: “It’s exciting to think our country has grown so much in its diversity over recent years. We all have a place here. Today’s Kiwis speak a myriad of languages and enjoy and share the variety of cultural celebrations and international cuisine.”

The poster is available from Grace Bassett or Sunita Narayan (with a small cost to cover postage and packaging.) The Human Rights Commission poster can be ordered through their Infoline service.

There are around 7000 Tokelauans in New Zealand, and about 1200 in Tokelau. According to the 2006 census, only 40 per cent could speak Tokelauan at that time, and less than 25 per cent of those born in New Zealand could do so.

Tokelau, Niue and the Cook Islands remain a part of the “New Zealand realm” and their people enjoy New Zealand citizenship. All have a majority of their population living in New Zealand, and language retention in New Zealand is vital to the survival of their languages. The Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs worked with the three communities on a Mind Your Language project from 2005-2009 to produce some initial language resources and a website for each language.  The Tokelau website was launched in 2008.

The Tokelau Wellington Leadership Group has continued to work with Government and others on initiatives to promote their language.  The first ever translation of the New Testament was completed in 2009 and is being followed by the translation of the Old Testament. The Ministry of Education published Tokelau Language Guidelines in 2009, and Muakiga! An Introduction to Gagana Tokelau in 2011. The group has developed a Community Action Plan for the Tokelau language consistent with the draft Pacific Languages Framework being developed by the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs.

Plans for 2012 include an inaugural Tokelau Language Week to promote the language to both the Tokelau and wider New Zealand communities.

On Waitangi Day itself, National Radio will broadcast live from Puke Ariki, in association with the Sounds Like Us radio exhibition. Kim Hill and Paul Diamond will interview invited guests from 8.00 am till noon, with members of the public able to attend.

From 11.00 to 1.00 pm there will be a family picnic featuring a 60 metre table cloth made especially for Waitangi Day and printed with 50 commonly used Maori words. The one metre wide cloth will be laid the length of the Landing outside the museum for people to place their kai on during the shared BYO lunch.  While enjoying the picnic, people will be asked to write down answers to the question: “What is something your family can do to honour the Treaty of Waitangi”.

The first is Wellington woman Hannah Mackintosh, who has established a project called Allcorners which launches a photographic exhibition, Life Stills, as part of the Wellington Fringe Festival at the Left Bank Arcade from 24 February to 3 March. Twelve photographers and twelve people in Wellington have shared a journey to discover the stories behind daily tasks. Some knew each other already, most had never met. Together they tell a story; one through the lens of a camera, and the other through opening their doors to share a snippet of what makes up who they are.

The second is Auckland Girls Grammar School Head of Physics, Alka Rhode, who has started a Facebook page to gather support for a flashmob in Auckland for Race Relations Day.

The third is Wellington’s Belinda Bonzon-Liu, who is one of a group of women organising WWW4Peace, a Wellington Women’s Walk for Peace, for International Women’s Day on March 8. The walk is being organised “to raise awareness of our interconnectedness and interdependence in our hope and work towards the attainment of peace”, inviting all women from all walks of life, from different religions or diverse beliefs, from different ethnicities and cultures to join the Walk. Walk to support the protest against violence on women and children. Walk to support protest against wars. Walk to support empowerment of women.

May all their projects flourish.

It also showcases cultural performances throughout the day, with music, dance and educational activities for the children. Last year, 5000 people attended, and larger numbers are expected this year.  The festival is supported by the Ashburton District Council, the Ashburton Trust, Trustpower, the Ministry of Culture and Heritage Treaty of Waitangi Commemoration Fund, The Lion Foundation, Ashburton District Creative Communities, Aoraki Polytechnic, Advance Ashburton Community, Safer Ashburton District, MCNN Inc. The event takes place on Saturday 4 February from 11.00 am – 3.00 pm in Baring Square East.

Lucia Reijgersberg took on the role of Settlement Support Coordinator which she has carried out for nearly seven years. During that time she has brought agencies together and enabled new migrants to the Hamilton area to access the information they need to settle successfully there. In the words of the Waikato Migrant Resource Centre: “Lucia’s work has made a huge difference to the lives of many migrants seeking help and security in their new country. She has embraced her role with enthusiasm, efficiency and heartfelt sincerity. Lucia has worked tirelessly to build up strong relationships across the settlement sector and leaves the service in a very good place, looking towards a bright future.”

Produced by Catherine Fitzgerald and supported by the New Zealand Film Commission, the film won several accolades in Venice, and lead actor Fiaula Sanote received a best actor nomination in the recent Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The film has also been nominated for an Oscar next year in the foreign language film category.

The Orator is the first feature film shot entirely in the Samoan language and the first to be filmed on the Samoan island of Upolu. The story focuses on Saili, the son of the dead village chief who has been ostracized by the community because he is a little person. Quiet and unassuming, Saili is forced to defend his family and way of life with nothing more than words and the power of his voice. In doing so, he claims his rightful place as chief. Beautifully filmed, the Orator “portrays the landscape, people, culture, images, color, sound and feel of Samoa.”

Samoan audience reaction may be best summed up by a recent post on the film’s Facebook page from a Samoan in Australia:

“I have watched The Orator 2wice now and still cant get over. Its still gettin no’s in Sydney. Families, singles, all ages flocking to see it. I have to admit as soon as OLE TULAFALE THE ORATOR came up on screen @ da beginning I cried tears of proudness. Samoa on the big screen who would of thought.”

There will be a special screening of The Orator at Te Papa in Wellington on Saturday 3 December from 12 noon- 4pm to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Numbers are limited so please RSVP to Naomi Taylor , 04 471 6756.

The Orator continues to play in cinemas around the country, but these are the last weeks to see it on the big screen in Aotearoa. A DVD will be available before Christmas.

Based on the number of voters on the Māori Electoral Roll, it plans to have two members elected from Māori constituencies with effect from the 2013 triennial election. Environment Bay of Plenty has had Māori constituencies since 2004. Chairman Peter Buckley said the groundwork for strengthening Maori representation started in 2006 when the council reduced the number of councillors from 14 to 12 and adjusted constituency boundaries to allow for two members to be elected from Maori constituencies in the future. “This council has long recognised the special status of the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand society and the potential for improving Maori representation in regional governance.” 

The decision has been welcomed by Waikato Tainui spokesperson Tukoroirangi Morgan. “It’s a sign of acceptance that a major regional council is of the view that there has to be iwi participation at the highest level,” he said. “I see this as a significant recognition of the place for iwi and it is a sign of maturity.”

All Councils were asked by the Race Relations Commissioner to consider providing direct representation for Māori this year.  The topic has been hotly debated around the country. One other Council, the Nelson City Council, has voted to establish a Maori ward, but the decision is currently the subject of a petition to have the matter recommitted.

When the proposal for Māori constituencies was first mooted in the Bay of Plenty, the Council referred it to Judge Peter Trapski for public hearings. In his report, he addressed a question still commonly raised in discussion of Māori seats, noting that the passage of the Electoral Act 1993, which provided for the continuation of Māori seats under MMP, was “Parliament’s declaration concerning the way in which democracy is delivered in New Zealand”, and that the proposal for Māori seats in local government “appears to be in total conformity with that declaration, and may therefore be regarded as constitutionally sound and democratic”.

Participants in the exhibition are from the Assyrian, Mexican, Colombian, Filipino, Chinese, Jewish, Hindu and Muslim communities.

The exhibition explores the diverse rituals surrounding death through their experiences and the changes these groups have made since arrival in New Zealand, and other recent developments in funeral and mourning practices.

The exhibition has been arranged around the six themes of water, fire, earth, colour, food and words. Visitors are encouraged to write a tag recalling a special practice or ritual they did for a loved one or they can place objects for display on special shelving as a gesture of individual or community participation.

A large monitor screens videos which focus on expressions of grief and remembrance. The videos cover Anzac Day, the Makara Cemetery Bus Service, Assyrian Martyrs’ Day, Mexican Day of the Dead, the tangihanga of a Parihaka kaumatua, Te Ru Koriri Wharehoka, and a Chinese Ching Ming Grave Sweeping ceremony.

An extensive series of public programmes is also planned for the duration of the exhibition comprising music, performance, stories and lectures. As the principal sponsor, New Zealand Police will be presenting four of the estimated 30 public programmes, including one on the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake, providing both a professional and personal perspective.

The Death and Diversity project is also supported by the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand and partners Voice Arts Trust and the New Zealand Film Archive. The exhibition opens on 5 December 2011 at the Museum of Wellington City & Sea and will run through to the end of June 2012.

The toolkit includes information, tools and support to help sport organisations provide for and encourage diverse communities to play sport, as part of a long term strategy to increase sport participation.

 It notes that non-Europeans make up about 40% of the Auckland population and that “the increasing pool of ethnically diverse people is a rich source of new members, innovative ideas and diverse skills that may inject new life into sports clubs and organisations”.  Sport, it argues, is an important avenue for settlement of new migrants, provides a break from stress associated with adapting to a new environment and provides a chance to keep fit, have fun and mix with a cross-section of New Zealand society.

The toolkit was launched in August as part of the wider Connect2Sport project which is a three year partnership between Sport and Recreation New Zealand, Sport Auckland, Auckland Council, Auckland Football Federation and Auckland Badminton Association, aiming to connect people from diverse ethnic backgrounds to the sports of football and badminton. It aims specifically to get more people from diverse communities both participating and volunteering in these sports. It will also build the capacity within Auckland Football and Auckland Badminton to better engage with diverse communities. It will initially focus on Mt Roskill, Avondale, New Lynn and Blockhouse Bay and will target youth aged 13 to 24 years. Over time learnings from the project will be extended to other regions, sports and age groups.

The 58 page toolkit can be downloaded from the Auckland Council website. It contains information on demographics, religion and customs, barriers and responses, case studies and tips and techniques. It also lists support organisations, communication channels through ethnic media, resources, a guide to key cultural events and a glossary.

Kate began her role as Director in 2002 and during her time has helped develop the Museum into an award-winning cultural institution that has built strong relationships with diverse communities in Waikato. Under her leadership the Museum has recognised and celebrated the diverse range of groups in the community with several community exhibitions including: Chinese Poll Tax (2004); Being Irish (2005); Rare View sharing stories of Somali refugees (2006) Qui Tutto Bene (2007); Keeping Faith celebrating religious diversity (2007); Assume Nothing celebrating gender diversity (2010) and by hosting the exhibition on Anne Frank (2011). Each of these exhibitions provided a space for the community to express their unique and valuable voices. Through exhibitions like Ngaa Pou Whenua, which tells the story of the four iwi of Tainui, Kate has also ensured that the Museum has worked in close partnership with local iwi to reflect the rich cultural heritage of Māori.  Among the awards received by the Museum during Kate’s time as Director are Creative New Zealand’s Creative Places Award for Arts Provision in 2005 and 2006 and the Human Rights Commission’s New Zealand Diversity Award for an outstanding contribution to race relations and cultural diversity relations in 2008. The Museum has been an active supporter of the New Zealand Diversity Action Programme for a number of years.

Their choice to do this was determined both by the subject matter of the film (loss of sight) and by their own increased understanding as they researched, wrote and finally made the film, of what this means in a person’s life. The film, shot on Wellington’s South Coast, tells the story of a middle aged truck driver who loses his job after failing an eye test and has to come to terms with the loss of his sight. The cast includes Rangimoana Taylor in the lead role, along with Carmel McGlone, Geraldine Brophy and Dame Kate Harcourt. It was made on a shoestring budget but ran for 14 weeks in cinemas around the country earlier this year.

Torchlight Films is based in Wellington, where it was founded by Andrea Bosshard and Shane Loader. They describe themselves as “producing independent feature films that deliver stories sourced in our communities to broad local audiences, sustainably and economically”, telling “contemporary, character-centred, inter-generational stories from our own backyard that explore the human condition and have the power to move and touch us.”

The Special Edition DVD can be ordered from their website.

We think it’s worth acknowledging because it traverses new ground in making a New Zealand movie accessible to diverse audiences, and for the story it tells.

Colin has been Chair for the past six years and a trustee for nine. ARMS Director Mary Dawson described him as “a mighty upholder of the importance of empowering and supporting communities, and a staunch advocate for migrant communities and their settlement needs”.  While he was General Manager of the former Manukau Council, Colin took a lead role in the development of the Auckland Regional Settlement Strategy and Action Plan.   Recognising the need for Auckland to provide direct assistance to new migrants, he lent his support to the establishment of a ‘one-stop-shop’ organisation – the ARMS Trust – and resource centre to meet the need of new settlers for settlement information and support.

As Mary Dawson said: “Colin has been a truly important asset to the ARMS Trust in its first decade.  ARMS has benefitted enormously from his commitment to delivering on ARMS’ vision and mission, his in-depth management and governance experience and expertise, his unobtrusive discernment, patience, and listening abilities, and his humane guidance”. Colin assisted the Auckland Transition Agency to ensure that the needs of migrant communities were not forgotten in the new Auckland Supercity.

Aoraki Polytechnic worked as part of the South Canterbury International Festival Trust which was formed as partnership with representatives from schools, business, the Aoraki Multicultural Council, Sister Cities Association, and other organisations to organise the event on an annual basis.

Aoraki Polytechnic International Manager, Felicity MacFarlane, responsible for the Operations of the event this year, was delighted with the opportunity to have the event on campus. “Support for this event showcases the vision of Aoraki Polytechnic to make a vital and necessary contribution to the social and cultural development of the region.”

The festival featured headline act Anika Moa, and MC Raybon Kan, as well as an array of cultural performances, Houses showcasing different cultures in the region, exhibitors, and a fashion show. Over a dozen local groups gave performances during the day and Houses included South Canterbury residents from Japan, South Africa, Taiwan, Korea, China, Germany, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands and Russia.

More than ever before, we saw people of all ethnicities get behind the national team and welcome and celebrate the other teams, particularly those from our Pacific neighbours. Maori language and tikanga were integral to the whole event and, in the presence of an appreciative world audience, we strongly affirmed our unique national identity. For this reason, the Rugby World Cup was a race relations event as well as a sporting highlight, and demonstrated how sport can be a powerful means of bringing us together. The All Blacks winning the world cup was the icing on the cake. A special acknowledgment is also due to Martin Snedden, Chief Executive of Rugby New Zealand 2011 Ltd who embraced the initial vision and showed immense commitment to involving all communities and mobilising volunteers for the Cup, alongside managing the complex requirements of delivering the actual tournament and working with a wide range of stakeholders.

They invited proposals from organisations and communities throughout New Zealand and put together an amazing national festival programme celebrating the diversity of our peoples and cultures on a scale never seen before, and exceeding anything done in association with a Rugby World Cup previously.  The Festival offered more than 1200 events and experiences all over the country which showcased New Zealand’s arts, food and wine, cultures, heritage, entertainment, industries and business, experiences and lifestyle. While obviously targeting overseas visitors coming to New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup, it also provided an opportunity for New Zealanders to appreciate and celebrate their own cultural diversity both as performers and consumers.

This year it was about Culture, Communication and Careers. Around 90 doctors from hospitals around the country attended the day, held at Auckland City Hospital’s Clinical Education Centre on 28 October. Trainees heard a keynote address by Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres on cultural competence and structural discrimination in the health sector, an outline of the history of the College’s work on cultural competence by Hutt Hospital paediatrician and chair of the College’s Maori Health Committee, Dr Leo Buchanan, and a discussion on working with refugees by Dr Helen Saunders, Refugee Health Collaborative Project Manager at the Mangere Refugee Reception Centre. For the remainder of the day they participated in workshops on these and other topics. The College has initiated work on cultural competency in the form of a discussion document and is developing materials to guide Fellows and Trainees towards developing culturally competent practice. The College also has a strong advocacy focus on reducing health inequities. The Race Relations Commissioner encouraged the College to make a submission to the forthcoming inquiry by the Maori Affairs Select Committee on the determinants of wellbeing of Maori children, and also referred to a survey of District Health Boards published the previous week on Health equity in the New Zealand health care system which concludes that “There is a struggle to put equity principles into practice, indicating will without enactment. Equity is not addressed systematically below strategic levels and equity does not shape funding decisions, program development, implementation and monitoring. Equity is not incentivized although examples of exceptional practice, driven by individuals, are evident across New Zealand.”

The play is based on the sinking of the SS Ventnor in the Hokianga Harbour in 1902, with the bones of 499 Chinese miners bound for ancestral graves in Canton.  A century later Ben, a young man, arrives in the Far North to try to find some link with his past. The Bone Feeder is a NZ play which draws on the traditions of Asian storytelling. It’s a visually spectacular professional theatre production which uses a cast of 19 performers, live music, high-wire martial arts, dance, drama and comedy to tell this story of one of the first times of contact between NZ Chinese and Maori.

The story of the SS Ventnor and its ill fated voyage in 1902 is one which immediately tears at the heart. How a grieving and then-insular Chinese community in NZ raised money to send its loved ones ‘home’; how those promises to family sank to the bottom of the ocean in an unknown harbour; and how the remains were found and honoured by the people of that land, is a history that should be more widely known in New Zealand.  The Bone Feeder follows the fictional Ben, a young fifth-generation Chinese New Zealander who travels to the present-day Hokianga to look for the bones of his great great grandfather.

Liang says that she hopes the story will have universal resonance. “I can imagine what it’s like to have a foot in two worlds, torn between what is left behind and what is hoped for in the new country. New Zealand is a nation of immigrants – even Maori have their immigration stories.  Ultimately it is the people we love – our family– that bring us home. And that to me is the most important thing.”

The Bone Feeder was initially performed with an amateur cast in 2010 at the Hamilton Gardens Festival and the Palmerston North Festival of Cultures, where it received positive reviews. Bookings for the professional premiere can be made at TAPAC, phone (09) 8450295 from 10am-5pm or online.  There are concessions for seniors, students, children and groups.

The popular programme has been all about Asians in New Zealand, their lives, their interests, controversies and achievements. The show has tackled in depth coverage of Kiwi Asian issues, with some episodes dedicated to single issue topics. Five reporters put together 40 editions a year for screening on TV One and TVNZ 7. 

With a squeeze on funding and other changes happening with New Zealand On Air, and with TVNZ now without a charter, the broadcasters and New Zealand on Air have chosen a new programme to be produced by Satellite Media, a mixed media production company based in Ponsonby, Auckland for the Sunday morning transmission time that will reflect a wider mix of ethnicity. Called Neighbourhood, it will include New Zealand communities from all of the world, and not just Asian.  

Glenna Casalme, associate producer and reporter on Asia Downunder, says she is looking at teaching English to refugees.  She says she’s sad the programme is coming to an end and warns other producers that it’s hard work getting a programme on the country’s diverse communities to air every week.

Asia Downunder has been a keen supporter of the NZ Diversity Action Programme and was the recipient of a Special Diversity Award in 2008 for its coverage of the annual forum over a number of years. The programme will be missed by many.

You can checkout their most recent coverage of the Turangawaewae Marae powhiri for all ethnic groups as part of the 2011 NZ Diversity Forum and of the 2010 NZ Diversity Forum.

The first lecture was by Mike Flavell, former Head of Community Studies at the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology and a well established Treaty educator, and the second by Tahu Potiki, of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu. The final lecture was given by Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres, who illustrated the changing face of New Zealand with the ethnic composition of New Zealand’s schools as compared with the general population, as well as discussing recent Labour Department reports on Migration Trends and Perceptions of Migrants.  There was a lively discussion at each of the three sessions and organisers were delighted at the high level of interest that was shown in the topic.

The donation was a contribution to the establishment of the Red Cross Wellington Emergency Response Management Team. The presentation was made jointly with the Wellington Mutamizh Sangam, a charitable organisation that promotes Tamil Language and culture, which co-organised the event.

Some sixty performers ranging in age from 5 to over 50 performed on both evenings to an audience of 600.

The Natraj School of Dance is an Indian classical dance school based in Lower Hutt established by choreographer and performer Mrs. Prabha Ravi. The school has a roll of 30 students and the age group of students range from 5 to 50 years. The students are from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Every year the school puts on a dance production, providing an opportunity for students to perform in public. The production also helps to create public awareness of the different style of Bharatanatyam (Pandanallur Style and Kanchepuram Ellappa style).

From left to right: Ms. Prabha Ravi - Director - Natraj School of Dance, Saba Vallipuram - Secretary NZ Red Cross Wellington Branch, Mervin Singham - Director - Office of Ethnic Affairs, Katrina Shanks MP , Mayor Ray Wallace - Hutt City Council and Selva Ramasami - President Wellington Mutamizh Sangam

The event was organised by the Wellington Refugee as Survivors Trust and the Accident Compensation Corporation. It brought together 23 other organisations including the Wellington City Council, NZ Police, NZ Fire Service, and Emergency Preparedness.

Over a hundred refugee families of different ethnicities and cultures from the greater Wellington region came to learn about the various services and resources they can access to enhance their safety and wellbeing. The event began with a welcome from the Mayor of Wellington, Celia Wade-Brown.

Activities safety and wellbeing information to take home, live demonstrations, massage, and children’s activities from key agencies including story reading, face painting and different cultural dances.

The course aims to give participants an opportunity to discuss their history and experiences in a safe and supportive environment and explore different ways of writing and recording stories. The reflections of participants will subsequently be published. The course is being held on Thursday evenings from 20 October – 8 December.

CPIT is one of New Zealand’s largest tertiary institutions, educating about 30,000 students per annum.

Thousands flocked to the airport to greet the team, people lined the streets from the airport and Tongan flags were flying everywhere. But it was also the date of the inaugural Tongan Language Week, organised by the Tongan Teachers Association of Aotearoa, to promote the use and teaching of the language in New Zealand. Among the schools to celebrate the week was Marcellin College in Auckland where nearly a quarter of the 700 students are Tongan. Mrs Mele Kaituu helped to create a list of Tongan words and phrases for everyone to practice, and the greeting Malo e lelei was frequently heard around the school.

Students had the opportunity to listen to Tongan legends in both Tongan and English, presented by Kelini Talakia’atu. She also created posters for classroom walls to teach students number and colour vocabulary in Tongan. There was an informal Tongan concert held during the lunch hour organised by Mr S. Talakia’atu. The Lord’s Prayer in the Tongan Language (Catholic version) was located (after much searching) by Melenaite Latunipulu and used at tutor group time, during a staff reflection and at mass on Friday. The Intermediates took an enthusiastic part in the Tongan Language week

Poster competition. Prizes were awarded to Brendon Tovio (first) Keeran Moorthy (second) and Shaira Calder (third). One of the posters was also used on the official Tongan Language Week Facebook page and reproduced in other publicity for the week. To all those who took part: Malo ’aupito.

When they found out that there was to be a Tongan Language Week this year they were very excited and keen to take part. A group of six very passionate Tongan children is part of the school’s First Language Team that meet for half an hour every Friday morning to use their first or home language. They are provided with a variety of activities that assist with the reinforcement of their own language. All these activities are language based and include listening, speaking, writing and reading. Many of the resources that are used are made by the children themselves.

The school’s participation in Tongan Language Week was driven by the children. They based their week on a similar programme followed by the Samoan children for several years.

Day One began with a list of greetings for the teachers to use in their classrooms. As experts, the six courageous Tongan students made themselves available to assist the teachers. On Day Two, the children presented each classroom with a counting poster. These were made during the past year in their ‘First Language” time. On Day Three they gave each classroom a “Tongan Colours” poster, another project from the school’s ‘First Language’ team. More classroom instructions were given out on Day Four and on Day Five there was a list of classroom objects.

The Tongan children loved being experts for the week and can’t wait to do it all again next year. Here are some of their comments:

Christina: “ It was cool. I felt very proud standing up if front of the class and sharing my language.”

Pauline: “I got to teach several of the classes Tongan and some people had never heard Tongan before.”

Amei: “I liked being the expert in my class, I had to talk in front of all the class.”

Monique: “I liked being the expert and helping all the teachers.”

Members of the Tongan Language Team (back row) from left to right Pauline, Sofilisi, and Flipe and (front row) left to right Amei, Monique and Christina.

In Term Four the school is planning to include more  students  from different cultures in the First language team.  You can check out some of their activities on the Addington ESOL  blog.

During the month of Ramadan Muslims all around the world fast from sunrise till sunset and break their fast with the Iftar dinner. It is a custom to invite as many guests as one can at these dinners.

The Foundation organises Intercultural Dialogue Dinners every year during Ramadan where people from different backgrounds can come together and share delicious Turkish food.

The Foundation also hosted an intercultural dialogue dinner in Wellington on 10 August at the Grand Hall of Parliament, with attendees ranging  from political party leaders and MP’s to university vice chancellors. This dinner was co-hosted by Dr. Ashraf Choudhary, M.P.

The Foundation is a registered charity and incorporated society. It was founded in 2006 by members of the Turkish Community living in New Zealand. It aims to contribute to the cultural mosaic of New Zealand with events throughout the year. More information can be found on their website.

The Youth Forum is an annual gathering of young people from all around Aotearoa and is a parallel stream of the New Zealand Diversity Forum.   The forum aims to bring young people together to discuss issues relating to cultural diversity.  It was held at Hopuhopu in Ngaruawahia, 20 – 22 August.

Dallas was asked to facilitate a graffiti art session with 50 young people to visually capture what cultural diversity means to them.  The idea was that participants would have something solid to take back to their communities to aid continuing discussions on diversity.

Workshops on cultural diversity and human rights began on Saturday and Dallas participated in all of these so he would have an understanding of the overall themes of the forum. 

On Sunday, Dallas was given only two hours to facilitate his session and have the participants produce 50 canvases.  He rose to the challenge and brought a number of friends with him to help.  Participants thoroughly enjoyed his session and for many, according to the evaluation forms, it was a highlight of the forum. 

The participant’s art was displayed in the Youth Forum’s presentation to the wider Diversity Forum as well and received much attention. 

Art with Aroha regularly works with young people in Hamilton on graffiti art projects to create positive images for the community. 

This is the penultimate/last-but-one  of the entries which span New Zealand’s local and regional history  and geography .

Local resident Dr Monty Soutar (Ngati Porou) wrote the entry during the last twelve months, illustrating the variety of stories and people from the region. “There was a lot to cover as the region is a large one with towns and settlements dotted along the coast and hinterlands. It also has a high Māori population, almost 50%, and a rich Māori history which I was keen to see reflected in the entry.”

The region has many claims to fame – the longest serving mayor in New Zealand, the only New Zealand born heavyweight boxer to challenge for the world title, New Zealand’s first electric tram operation and the launching pad for Kiri te Kanawa, Kerridge movie theatres, and Watties.

Interesting facts  include:

• The Tūranganui River in Gisborne is where British explorer James Cook originally set foot in New Zealand, and Te Toka-a-Taiau, a rock that once stood in the river, marked the first meeting between Europeans (Cook’s party) and Māori in 1769.
• The East Coast is the region with the highest percentage of Māori. Along the coast proper, the homeland of Ngāti Porou, around 85% of the population of 5,000 are Māori, compared with 14.6% in New Zealand as a whole. Of the 40,000 people of Poverty Bay – including Gisborne, with a population of 31,000 – about 44% are Māori. In 2006 the total population of the region was 44,460.
• The phenomenally successful film, Whale Rider was shot in Whangara near Gisborne. You can see a short clip of the area and the film here
• Te Ara also hosts films and footage of the way we were – see what Gisborne locals thought of their town in 1963.
• Meng Foon is the mayor of Gisborne and a fluent speaker of Māori- this video clip shows local students performing Tu Mai –a song composed by Meng Foon.

Calling himself a concerned citizen, the businessman emailed the school taking exception to the “mixed array of flags that are hoisted every school morning” and complaining about “mixed messages, when what this country needs is some national pride and a sense of belonging”. He attached an offensive anti-Maori document that has been circulating on the internet, saying “I suggest you read it and then review your confused teaching.”  School Board of Trustee Chair Steve O’Connor responded by saying “We are a diverse community. We recognise that and we celebrate it and we want our kids growing up in the atmosphere of doing the same.” The  flags in question are the New Zealand flag, the Government recognised Tino Rangatira Flag, the Silver Fern, artist Friedrich Hundertwasser’s Koru flag, the historic flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, and the school’s own flag.

The school also flies flags on its main flagpole – this is usually the NZ ensign but this is replaced with flags from other nations on special occasions. The school gathers at the main flagpole to commemorate important dates in the calendar like ANZAC Day and Armistice Day.

Flags offer the school colour and movement as well as highlighting the ethnicities within the roll.

The school provides education for Years 1-6 students from North East Valley and neighbouring areas. As a “normal” school, it has a special relationship with the University of Otago College of Education.  It is the second oldest school in Dunedin. The school enjoys a very strong culture and recognises the richness of diversity as evident in the school population where 66% of the student population are Pakeha, 19% Maori, 8% Asian, 3 % Pacific, 2 % European, and 2 % other ethnicities.

Tolerance and understanding of difference and diversity are embedded in school practice. Teachers celebrate what children bring to the classrooms, including their uniqueness, ethnicity and background.

The school also recognises the importance of a smooth transition to school for new entrants and consequently offers a regular class for 4 year olds to have a taster of school life. This class is called the Rainbow Class and has been running for a number of years.

Te Reo Maori is used throughout the school and a bilingual class operates at the school -one of only 2 in Dunedin to offer such an opportunity to its Maori and non-Maori children. The staff and community are committed to finding ways to express biculturalism and multiculturalism including regular cultural days and conversation classes for recent migrants.. Currently the school gives free community language conversation classes to newcomers and offers part time bi-lingual classes for pupils.

We say, keep up the good work North East Valley Normal School, and keep those flags flying. That is the real way to engender some national pride and a sense of belonging – for everyone!

It was also the first weekend of the election campaign, which may explain the exceptionally high attendance of Members of Parliament at the official ceremony, with many National, Labour, Act and Green Party MP’s joining the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and the Mayor of Auckland. The festival was also held early to coincide with the Rugby World Cup, and there were many disappointed Fiji supporters after Samoa beat them at Eden Park that afternoon. Opening performances focused on the World Cup, with the singing of the national anthem, flags from all participating nations, and even an Indian scrum and try on stage. The Association welcomed the signing of a sponsorship agreement with the new Auckland City in July, allaying fears that local community groups would be ignored after the supercity merger.   “It is nice and reassuring to know that Auckland Council has recognised that good people make great communities and great communities make super cities,” Diwali 2011 project manager Tmanoj Tahal said.

Diwali this year falls on October 26, but festivals will take place around New Zealand throughout October. The popular Asia New Zealand festivals will take place in Auckland on 8-9 October and Wellington on 15-16 October. Once again they will be bringing  performers over from India for the festivals: This year they are sand artist Ranjan Kumar Ganguly from Orissa, Manipuri dancers from the JN Manipur Dance Academy, and the Chennai-based Indian Puppeteers.

Association President Anand Naidu says the main purpose for organising this event was to promote the integration of cultural diversity in Waitakere. He says “The Diwali celebration went exceptionally well, with around 10,000 people coming throughout the day, despite the rainy conditions.  It was a great opportunity to showcase Indian culture and to provide a fun day out for all the family. ” says Anand.

The new website aims to provide high quality information and answers for all newcomers settling into Auckland, whether born overseas or in New Zealand.  New Aucklanders will be linked through the website to useful information and ‘how‐to’ advice for settling in the city, through clear sign‐posting. It will direct them to people who can assist with specialist settlement information. They can also create a My Page for storing and planning their own individual settlement journey. They will have immediate online access to practical advice, such as how to catch a bus, renting a house, and schooling for children. The website will also host discussion forums, online guides for newcomers, and forums for service providers to share best practices, events and workshops.

Settlement.Org.NZ also provides tools for service providers and other relevant organisations to win the attention of New Aucklanders and provide them with information about their services.

By becoming a Content Provider, your organisation will have access to a range of tools including photos, video, graphics, audio and communication technology.

The event was a prelude to the NZ Diversity Forum in Hamilton. It was a unique and significant occasion for ethnic communities as it was the first time that a special welcome had been held by the King to recognise the diversity of New Zealand society. There was a very strong response with 400 people attending and over 50 ethnic community organisations and service providers represented including; the NZ Federation of Multicultural Councils, Hamilton Multicultural Trust, Refugee Services, NZ Chinese Association, NZ Indian Central Association, Sikh Council of NZ, Congolese Community of Waikato, Counties Manukau Police, Hindu Council NZ and the Auckland Council Advisory Ethnic Panel. For many this was the first time they had attended the Koroneihana celebrations and been given an opportunity to meet King Tuheitia. For some others this was their first experience to witness marae culture and protocol. There was also a special welcome for the Muslim community on 20 August to accommodate and acknowledge the observance of Ramadan which was attended by 100 people. 

The Koroneihana celebrations 2011 marked the fifth anniversary of the coronation of of Kīngi Tuheitia, the seventh Māori monarch at Ngāruawāhia on 21 August 2006. The eldest son of the late Queen Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu and Whatumoana Paki.

It provides a recycled computer, internet access, parent training and technical support to families who would not otherwise have the opportunity to be part of the online world.

As the scheme developed, parents have also embraced the learning experience for themselves, so the focus has broadened to family literacy and community literacy, with some parents completing qualifications in teaching, social work, computing and the arts.

The Ministry of Education incorporated CIH into their education strategy for newly arrived refugees, with the additional support of interpreters, family liaison workers, transportation and babysitting to remove barriers to participation. Access to information for new settlers and the engagement with their children’s schools assists families to readjust to a new country and become part of the wider community.

Any families wanting further training have access to the free Stepping UP programme which builds ICT skills in a more focussed way towards employment readiness and upskilling. Computers in Homes and Stepping UP have become notable contributions to social capital in marginalised communities.

Libraries operates at 54 community locations from Wellsford to Pukekohe, via four mobile libraries and the web, and works with 14 rural volunteer libraries.

Over many years Auckland Libraries and its predecessor organisations have made a sustained investment in services and library resources (books, magazines, audio visual material, databases and other online content) specifically to meet the information and leisure reading needs of diverse communities. The Chinese Digital Community is a community space on the web developed by Libraries in partnership with the NZ Chinese Association Auckland Inc. Each year Auckland Libraries delivers a wealth of activities to mark events such as Chinese New Year, Diwali, Samoan and Maori Language Weeks, World Refugee Day, Matariki, Waitangi Day and Pasifika. Ongoing programmes at Auckland Libraries include Mandarin and Samoan storytimes, computer classes in Mandarin and community learning sessions delivered with a variety of partners, and living heritage and community archive initiatives.

Targeted service and collections development, internal staff networks, specialist multi-cultural roles and active collaboration across Auckland Council and the community sector enable Auckland Libraries to deliver responsive services to an increasingly diverse Auckland.

Each May, Deaf Aotearoa organises NZSL Week – a celebration of NZSL and a chance to raise awareness of this official language.  This year, more than 10,000 people nationwide got a “taste” of NZSL by taking part in demonstration classes. Fifty seven local NZSL events were organised and more than 75,000 NZSL resources distributed.

This year every primary and secondary school received a free copy of a DVD  featuring the national anthem in the all three official languages: NZSL, Te Reo Maori and English.

Deaf Aotearoa also helped to develop the NZSL online dictionary, a comprehensive and user-friendly way to learn about New Zealand Sign Language.

Deaf Aotearoa actively seeks ways to help break down the communication barriers and allow Deaf people the chance to be an active part of their community.

The EEO Trust engages with employers, combining ideas and resources so everyone can make the most of New Zealand’s diverse workforce.

The Trust recently interviewed young Pacific people about their experience of work and how employers could best tap into their energy and creativity. That’s important feedback for employers seeking to best engage young Pacific staff.

The EEO Trust Work & Life Awards celebrate leading employers who take innovative and flexible approaches to engaging their diverse workforces.

Entrants in this year’s Work & Life Awards include programmes to encourage young people, particularly Māori and Pacific youth, into careers in health. The winners were announced on 25 August. The EEO Trust will share their stories so all New Zealand employers can benefit from their learnings.

Hamilton Cityworks alongside Hamilton Multicultural Services Trust, the Office of Ethnic Affairs, Waikato Multicultural Council, Settlement Support New Zealand and agencies to enhance the social and cultural well-being of the diverse communities in Hamilton.

The Council has been behind: the Hamilton Directory for New Settlers, the annual Ethnic Communities Listening Forum, the Indigo Festival and the longest standing New Zealand Ethnic Football Festival.

Hamilton Youth Council and Hamilton Council of Elders are another reflection of diversity within the city.  Council members come from different ethnic backgrounds sit together to share their ideas and contribute to the growth of Hamilton city.  Recognyz Youth Awards is key event which acknowledges the achievements and contributions of Hamilton’s diverse youth population.

The Primary Health Organisation (PHO)  has the largest enrolled population in New Zealand with more than 367,000 people  among them over 22,000 Maori, 22,000 Asian and 8,700 Pacific Islanders.

Partnership Health Canterbury has worked hard to provide primary health care to refugee and migrant communities. During 2010/2011, the PHO created a wealth of community language resources and websites to promote primary healthcare and services. It rolled out a free interpreter service for general practitioners. It translated information about where to seek help after the Christchurch earthquake and it offered dental schemes for refugees and cooking classes for both refugees and migrants.

Pataka’s extensive exhibitions showcase Porirua City’s diverse communities including  Tradition & Colour:  Bindi – The Indian Dot,   Take me to the river , Bamiyan, Spirit of Solomons, Ko Au Tenei: This is me – in my hood,  Fiji Masi and  The Moriori of Rekohu: T’chakat henu – People of the Land. Pataka has five main galleries with over 14 major exhibitions each year, featuring work from local, national and international artists as well as a range of heritage and social history exhibitions.

One of their objectives is to promote and protect the interests of the many different cultural groups which make Rotorua a multicultural city and New Zealand a multicultural society. The council organises national diversity events that embrace cultural diversity under their unique branding U&I. This includes Race Relations Day in March featuring an ethnic football tournament called U&I Football, U&I Learn Maori during Maori Language Week, U&I Can Cook French and Thai. One of their major cultural events is GLOBALfest held biannually.

It works closely with local businesses, tangata whenua and the Rotorua District Council, and with the Rotorua Newcomers Network to support new migrants. The council is affiliated to the New Zealand Federation of Multicultural Councils Inc (NZFMC).

Their adolescent children attended Selwyn, fathers attended tertiary institutions but mothers with young children were unable to access English language classes.

Carol White, the former Principal, with the Ministry of Education helped provide local language classes with appropriate childcare. The first class started using a church hall with an attached playgroup. In 2004, The Carol White Family Centre, the centre of the REAF learning hub was opened for refugee preschool children.

 This year 150 adult refugee students from 26 different ethnicities attend 10 classes each day for 12 hours a week.

The children are supported in their first language by former- refugee teacher aides. Multigenerational learning occurs, with as many as three generations attending.

The students, adults and children can take classes in driving, sewing, gardening and craft.

Students are well supported by REAF staff, including a refugee advocate, as they settle in New Zealand.

More than 800 students have been through the programme moving on to work experience, further education, full and part time jobs and to become New Zealand citizens.

The challenges to resettlement are many, but the quiet, safe environment at REAF supports families through this transition.

The aims of the Multicultural Council are to: promote and protect the interests of the many different ethnic groups that make Tauranga a multi-ethnic region and NZ a multicultural society; promote and maintain unity and share experiences and friendship among members and other communities in New Zealand, to protect the ethnic groups against racist behaviour and to raise consciousness among the ethnic groups of the special status of the Maori people as tangata whenua and their rights under the Treaty of Waitangi. 

The Council’s continuing events include:  The Tauranga Multicultural Festival, held in March every year to celebrate Race Relations Day; Living in Harmony evenings, a monthly potluck dinner event showcasing various ethnic groups; A Newcomers Network and Ethkick – a football tournament held in October which this year was awarded a commendation by TrustPower 2011 Community Award in the Sport and Leisure section.

Through those stories, the Holocaust Centre creates an understanding of the need to preserve the human rights of all, and to respect the difference that each individual brings to their society and to the country in which they live.

In the nearly five years it has been operating thousands of schoolchildren have taken part in their programmes, which are taught in accordance with the New Zealand curriculum.

The United Nations International Holocaust Remembrance Day is commemorated on the 27 January each year. Organised by the Holocaust Centre in conjunction with the New Zealand Commission for UNESCO, the Wellington City Council, the Minister of Culture and Heritage, the Wellington Regional Jewish Council, B’nai Brith, and the Council of Jewish Women, it is a moving ceremony that grows each year.

The special day remembers those who perished and inspires us all to work for a more tolerant and inclusive society.

At the end of this year, the Wellington Holocaust Centre will become the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand and its reach will extend to the whole country.

The property was one of the first parcels of land to transfer to Waikato-Tainui as part of the Raupatu Settlement.

The Base is the first hybrid retail development in New Zealand, including large format retail, specialty fashion mall, hospitality and leisure, an outlet centre and homeware offerings and is currently the largest single site retail centre in New Zealand, the first to reach 80,000 square metres of retail space.

It is the first superregional shopping centre of its kind in New Zealand, drawing customers from across regions including South Auckland, Hauraki/Coromandel, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and the King Country.

The Base is a centre of commerce imbued with the heritage of Waiktato-Tainui.

The design of The Base and in particular its new mall – Te AWA, has been embedded with cultural reference points including whakatauki (proverbs), niho taniwha (tribal patterns), pou (carvings), and the Waikato River.

And Te AWA is the first mall in New Zealand to establish bi-lingual signage throughout the public areas.

The annual New Zealand Diversity Forum, now in its seventh year, will explore and discuss practical action on topical diversity issues ranging from language, religion, sport, museums, libraries, the media and research, to human rights, business, settlement, discrimination, work, Auckland, the Treaty, multiculturalism, children and youth.   Forum hosts include government agencies, local government, migrant groups, university centres, community groups, and business groups.

In a unique and historic prelude to the forum, on 19 August, the Māori King will welcome ethnic groups to the marae at Turangawaewae in Ngaruawahia, as part of the annual coronation celebrations.

The annual New Zealand Diversity Awards will be presented at conclusion of the forum at 6.00pm on Monday 22 August.

You can find more details on the Diversity Forum webpage. The forum is organised by the Human Rights Commission in association with the Hamilton Multicultural Services Trust, the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, the MSD Settling In Programme (MSD), NZ Police, the Office of Ethnic Affairs (OEA) and (for the diversity awards) Trust Waikato. You can register online: it’s free on Sunday and for single sessions, and a nominal fee of $50 applies for the Monday.

Other organisations offering forums include the Ministry of Justice, Migrante Aotearoa, NZ Council of Trade Unions, Auckland Chamber of Commerce, Waikato Interfaith Council, Shama Women’s Centre, Poverty Action Waikato, Community Access Radio Waikato Trust, 2020 Communications Trust, Tangata Tiriti Project, OMEGA, Tauranga Regional Multicultural Council, Rotorua Multicultural Council, Waikato Multicultural Council, Waikato Museum, Te Papa Tongarewa, Museums Aotearoa, Auckland Council, Hamilton City Council, NZ Federation of Multicultural Councils, Victoria University Centre for Applied Cross-Cultural Research, Waitangi Tribunal, Victoria University Religious Studies Programme, NZ Police, Christchurch Language and Information Network, Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, Taku Manawa Network, UNICEF, English Language Partners, and Diversity Librarians Network.

Updates will also be posted on the Diversity Forum Facebook page.

With the increased urgency to ensure the welfare of migrants in the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes, the newly established Christchurch Migrants Centre Trust was able to secure funding from the Ministry of Social Development’s Settling In programme, the Christchurch City Council and the Lotteries Commission and locate suitable premises at 166A St Asaph St near the city centre.

Although the official opening is not until 31 August, the doors are already open and a number of services available. These include Interpreting Canterbury, the Canterbury Refugee Council, and the Settling In programme coordinator. Meeting spaces are in use by other groups. Further services are likely to move in shortly when additional office accommodation is completed. The centre aims to coordinate between agencies that work with migrants, link migrants effectively to the services available and support and foster the growth of migrant associations. The Trust comprises four migrants, four business people and two Ngai Tahu representatives. Centre Director Rex Gibson QSM comes to the position with 19 years experience as Associate Principal at Hagley College, with responsibility for the third of the College’s students who come from refugee and migrant backgrounds.

One of the key issues raised was a concern that earthquake related information was not reaching people whose first language was not English. The group has developed two separate guidelines: one on “getting public information earthquake messages to culturally and linguistically diverse or multicultural communities” and the other on “using interpreters for earthquake-damaged homes and business assessments”. The group has helped to distribute available information and arranged for the translation of further health-related material, and provided assistance to the Earthquake Operations Centre in interpreting community briefings into Chinese, Korean and Samoan.  The group remains concerned however that migrant communities are not receiving current information when they need it, for example about applications and deadlines for financial assistance, consultation on the earthquake recovery strategy, and about decisions concerning the red, orange, green and white zones.

They will be presenting a forum on “After the Christchurch Earthquakes: Communicating with Diverse Communities” at the New Zealand Diversity Forum in Hamilton on 22 August, with learnings from Christchurch that will apply equally to other regions of New Zealand.

The Welcome to Amuri booklet is the work of Sharron Davie-Martin and Alex Thompson with funding from the Amuri Rural Women’s Dinner group. The booklet deals with everything from housekeeping tips and where to buy school uniforms to how to get an IRD number and where the nearest ATM is. The manual is designed to be worked through by the employee and the employer together.

Mrs Davie-Martin says the idea for the booklet grew out of the need to be able to communicate cultural differences and information to migrant workers without offending or embarrassing anyone. “It is a work in progress and we can add and subtract as we go along by slipping extra pages into the folders contained within the book,” she says. “We have added in a sheet of basic road rules, where their nearest school is, how to enrol for school, where the library is and how to open a bank account,” says Mrs Davie-Martin.

There are close to 1600 migrant dairy workers in NZ: 500 live in Canterbury, 450 in Southland, and 170 in Waikato. About half come from the Philippines with others coming from Fiji, Chile, South Africa, India, Britain, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Argentina, and Uruguay.

This year’s concert, on the eve of the wintry blast that struck Dunedin in late July, was the biggest yet, attracting a very lively audience of over 1000 in the Dunedin Town Hall. The concert was held under the auspices of the Otago University Students Association International Cultural Council, which represents the interests of over 2,600 international students at the university and comprises 15 separate and very active cultural clubs. The audience was taken on an entertaining video tour of Dunedin’s attractions, and the many cultures represented there. The various cultural clubs presented performances from their home countries, but imbued with humour and contemporary slants. Included were items from Brunei, Saudi Arabia, Fiji, Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, India, Singapore, Korea, and Sri Lanka.

Art led an enthusiastic team to produce a colourful, energetic and entertaining evening. He is originally from Thailand but has been in Dunedin for over 10 years. He is the International Student Representative on the Otago University Students Association executive, and this year also became President of the Dunedin Multi-ethnic Council. The International Cultural Council is a participant in the New Zealand Diversity Action Programme.

The communities exhibiting are: Argentina, Fiji, Japan, Wales, Tonga, South Africa and Iran. The Exhibition opens at Pataka Museum of Arts and Cultures on 18 August and will run till 25 September.

The Migrating Kitchen Trust is a not-for-profit charitable trust that arose from the successful first Migrating Kitchen exhibition Pataka Museum in 2007. The 2007 Exhibition showcased cuisine and personal stories from the Burmese, Chinese, Greek, Russian, and Samoan and Somali communities.

In 2009 the exhibition returned to with cuisine and personal stories from the Afghan, Chilean, Cook Island, Indian, Italian and Zimbabwean communities.

The Trust has the support of the Office of Ethnic Affairs and The Human Rights Commission, and raises funds through donations, grants and sponsorship. 

The Trust is a participant in the New Zealand Diversity Action Programme.

Four tutors from Rotorua’s Manaakitanga Aotearoa Charitable Trust came down to Omaka. This trust was formed in 2002 by the late Sir Howard Morrison and his daughter Donna Grant. Its tertiary level students are taught kapa haka (traditional performance art), drama, literacy and numeracy to certificate, diploma and, more recently, degree level.

The trust’s administration officer, Toni Waaka, said this was the first time the Trust had worked in the South Island, but the success of the visit to Omaka meant it might be repeated.

Each day started with a 6am wake-up call and a run. Between day-long tuition with kapa haka, poi, waiata (songs) and waiata a ringa (action songs), the college students also had to follow marae protocol.

The main organisers of this course, Sione Niupalau and Cheryl West, both teachers from Marlborough Girls’ College, were delighted with this innovative course because it was a tangible way to celebrate bi-culturalism and to foster the growth of strong positive young female role models.

“The kapa haka tutors say: Stand tall, look straight ahead, be proud of who you are.”

The week at Omaka was like lighting a flame, he says.

Source: Marlborough Express

Cinema Hong Kong will showcase 13 titles from Hong Kong with the premiere of Bruce Lee, My Brother at 8.30pm on Thursday 11 August at Rialto Cinema, Newmarket. The film is a dramatic biopic of the martial arts legend as told by his younger brother, Robert Lee.

Other festival events include: Career Hong Kong, for professionals and students looking at exploring opportunities in Hong Kong. Connect Hong Kong aims to bring together New Zealand’s biotechnology and green energy forefront with Invest Hong Kong, as biotechnology is one of the key areas set to develop under the New Zealand and Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement.

The festival closes on 18 August with Celebrate Hong Kong, a buffet dinner and auction with proceeds going towards the Canterbury Earthquake Appeal.

The festival was first held in 2009 and last year won the Best Initiative Award from the Federation of Hong Kong Business Associations Worldwide, which recognises associations/chapters for best individual events and projects.

Check out their website and Facebook page for updates.

Journeys described in the book include the story of Odetta Ntezicimpa, a refugee from Burundi, who spent five years in refugee camps before arriving in New Zealand, was fluent in three languages but was finding English a struggle. Now she’s running her own business as a driving instructor, having learned to drive and battled the challenge of finding seed capital. Her perseverance means she is now helping other immigrants improve their lives in New Zealand by teaching them to drive.

“Sometimes after a student passes, we all dance and hug and kiss, and I just know that it’s a huge success for them. At the end of the day it does change somebody’s life,” she says.

Another journey is that of Wendy Chen from China. Within two years of arriving in New Zealand she had taken two jobs, had returned to study at Auckland University, and was running her own business. She was also doing the accounts for another local business, after teaching herself the skill from instructions supplied by Inland Revenue. Wendy believes many migrants can succeed in business and the workforce, as well as integrate into New Zealand society if they have the right attitude.

Cristina Casares is a 3D Animation Producer, originally from Argentina, who believes New Zealand’s attitude towards women makes the country special. She believes being a woman in a male-dominated industry has been an advantage. “New Zealand has a lot of strong female leaders and entrepreneurs. So there really is a culture of respect for talented women.” Cristina sees this culture of respect extending to immigrants as well.

What they have in common is an unswerving belief in themselves, a determination to succeed and a commitment to pursuing their professional aspirations in their new homeland.

You can read more about “Trailblazers” online.

Last year Foodtown Woolworths and Countdown supermarkets across the country featured Māori words and phrases in promotional posters, and special ticketing.  As well as that, their regular mailer, which reaches 1.4 million households, featured bilingual components. This year Progressive Enterprises continue their bilingual advertising approach and have added some online elements. Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori phrase books, based on the Māori Language Week theme ‘Manaakitanga’ will be also available for free at all Countdown supermarkets.

Countdown Tokoroa was officially opened on 23 June by South Waikato Mayor Neil Sinclair, who unveiled a Māori carving created by the head of Forest View High School’s art department, local carver Lionel Matenga. Situated at the car park entrance and entitled Manaia (guardian), the carving represents vision and a public declaration of dreams, aspirations and goals, according to store manager Mike Olsen. He says the carving is a way of acknowledging the town’s cultural heritage. ”We’re proud to serve our local community and hopefully foster greater understanding of te reo,” Mr Olsen said. Te reo is featured throughout the supermarket with signs such as kaimoana (seafood) miraka (milk) and miti (meat).

The Waikato Times and Scoop Parliament did stories on the opening, which can be viewed on online.

For more information on Māori Language Week visit the Korero Māori website or join the very active Māori Language Week Facebook page.

From their successful online tutoring last year, they are now #1 for Google searches for Māori Mihi in New Zealand and the world and have also hit the top ten for poi making videos.

They also have videos on their blog of some of their international fans: students from Rocky River Elementary School in North Carolina doing Māori hand games, a student from Siberia saying the days of the week in Māori, and a student from Russia doing a mihi.  All Melville Intermediate School students have to create and speak a Mihi as part of their work at School.

The 2011 Māori Mihi team is now available for tutorials. You can also check out their site for Māori resources that the students have created over the past three years.

Visit Melville Intermediate BlogSpot for the videos and resources.

The youth group, who come from Burma, Iraq, Rwanda, and Sudan, say they had never experienced bullying in their home countries, yet all report being bullied at their schools since arriving in New Zealand. As one participant noted, “In our home countries, we liked our classmates but were scared of the teachers. Here, we like our teachers, but we’re scared of our classmates.”

Settling into a new school can be difficult for anyone, but young people from refugee backgrounds can find it particularly hard. Bullying is not just about getting beaten up. It can include name-calling, intimidation and ostracism. For refugee-background young people, this can include being mocked for their accent, their clothing, or the colour of their skin. Bullying is a major problem in New Zealand; an international survey recently showed that New Zealand youth have the second highest reported incidence of bullying, with one in three young people reporting that they’ve been hit, made to do things against their will, made fun of, been left out of activities, or had things stolen.

The drama explores the impact of bullying on high school students, and talks about the ways that refugee-background students are doubly impacted by bullying because of their backgrounds.

The performance has been filmed and a DVD will be available to schools, parents, and communities. It will come with a discussion guide about bullying as a human rights issue and the impact of bullying on refugee-background youth.  

If you would like a copy of these resources, contact Alia Bloom at 04 801 5812.

“Living Books” are people who volunteer to be interviewed by other staff about their life story, culture, and lifestyle. NZ staff interviewed a colleague based at the British Council Shanghai office in China, Lynn Fu, for about an hour.

Lynn is an arts officer, organising collaborations and exchanges between Chinese artists and presenters, and their British counterparts. Initially, her role with the British Council was as a communications officer, assisting students wanting to study English. 

“We had our Living Book experience on Skype, meaning we could see each other and share a laugh or two which made the conversation really come alive,” says NZ Country Director Ingrid Leary.

The Council’s NZ staff are working with the private sector and disability organisations, to assess the level of interest in a diversity accreditation system for business, based on the British Council model which is implemented across 110 countries.

Other regional offices celebrated the week by sharing best practice, doing a shared lunch, conducting diversity quizzes, slide show evenings and social events.

The organisation plans to make Diversity Week as part of its annual calendar.

“Since the first Dictionary of NZSL was produced, sign language dictionary making has moved towards an electronic medium, which is ideally suited to the dynamic nature of sign language,” says Deaf Studies Programme Director Dr Rachel McKee.

The new online dictionary has about 4,000 NZSL signs, accompanied by line drawings and video clips to show how to produce each sign and how the signs are used in context.

The dictionary is a resource for deaf people, their families, professionals, learners and teachers of NZSL. It will be available as a reference tool to a wide range of people in New Zealand and overseas.

It sets a new international standard in online sign language dictionaries, and it’s 100% Kiwi.  It’s based on Open Source software, so the software infrastructure is freely available to others who may find it useful.

Partner organisations in the project were the Auckland University of Technology School of Languages and Social Sciences, Kelston and van Asch Deaf Education Centres, and Deaf Aotearoa New Zealand. The project was funded by the Tertiary Education Commission’s Encouraging Innovation Fund.

Deaf people view themselves as being members of a unique cultural and linguistic group within our society.  Their language, NZSL, was officially acknowledged with the passage of the New Zealand Sign Language Act in 2006, recognising it as an official language in NZ.

You can access the dictionary at:  http://nzsl.vuw.ac.nz/

The first edition, written by educationalist and Hamilton City Councillor Daphne Bell, was published in 1998.  She produced three more editions, adding new material each time. The present edition was edited by Jenny Magee and is published by the Hamilton based Ethnic New Zealand Trust. It will be distributed to schools, but is also available for sale to the public, and will be useful to anyone who works and interacts with people of other cultures, including teachers, health professionals, police and staff of social service agencies.

For orders ($34.95* plus P&P) and/or further information regarding the book please email EthnicNZTrust@gmail.com.

For the day, pupils were allowed to dress up in costumes from other cultures. Red Cross Taranaki area manager Karen Lawson visited the school and spoke about the day’s theme one refugee without hope is too many and the work of the Red Cross.

“We’ve had a number of refugee families here over the years,” says principal Graham Wilson. “They bring a richness to the culture of the school.”

The event was featured in the Taranaki Daily News.

Today, it remains the only show on mainstream commercial radio in New Zealand engaging with issues affecting the Asian community. It also considers the diverse nature of the term ‘Asian’ through a kaupapa that is inclusive, irreverent and opinionated.

The Asian Radio Show continues to break new ground, with the new season offering more reports, interviews and a new panel discussion segment designed to foster an open dialogue on many issues facing the communities in Aotearoa.

All episodes can be accessed at www.holycowmedia.com and are rebroadcast on Access Radio, Hamilton. Holy Cow Media was set up in August 2006 by Dr Sapna Samant. One of its goals is to “tell cutting edge stories across all media platforms especially focusing on the Asian diaspora and transcultural tales that are essentially without boundaries.”

The Asian Radio Show, fronted by Sapna, airs every Saturday evening on Radio Live just after the news at 7pm.

There was a special assembly to mark Samoan Independence Day on 1 June, a photo of which appeared in the Wellington community paper, Cook Strait News, showing student El-Nino Peniamina performing the Taualuga dance with his mother Penelope Peniamina. The newspaper reported that children and staff dressed in traditional clothing and guests were treated to special performances by the children and a kava ceremony.  A group of parents prepared Samoan food, and the children practiced Samoan language throughout the week.

The event was hosted by the Samoan community and the Rotorua Multicultural Council and Newcomers Network, and was the first time Samoan Independence Day and Samoan Language Week had been publicly celebrated in Rotorua. Rotorua was chosen for the event because the Samoan Rugby Team, Manu Samoa, will be based there for the Rugby World Cup. Race Relations Commissioner  announced the Samoan Language Champions for 2011, which were chosen for their promotion of Samoan language through sport.  They were Manu Samoa, boxer David Tua, Rugby League player and ARL education officer Nigel Vagana, and Pittsburgh Steelers NFL player Troy Polamalu. The inclusion of Australian and American Samoan sportspeople reflected the extension of Samoan Language Week from New Zealand to Australia and the United States this year. 

Within New Zealand, activities took place in schools, universities, churches, libraries, workplaces and communities and friends of the Samoan Language Facebook page climbed to almost 5000 people. The Rotorua High Schools Pasifika Group recently won a trophy for the Most Valuable Contribution to the Pasifika by Nature Festival in Hamilton, and are set to capture the public eye again when Manu Samoa comes to Rotorua in September. Also acknowledged for organising the Rotorua event is Chris Simanu, manager of Mitsubishi Motors in Rotorua.

The NZSA Asian Short Story Competition is open to New Zealand permanent residents who are Asian or of Asian ethnicity. Short stories will be in English, and the theme is open. Stories will ideally contain some Asian content, though not necessarily be set in Asia. The minimum length of entries is 2,500 words, and the maximum length of entries is 3,500 words.

There is a total of $4,500 in cash prizes. First prize: $3,000. Second: $1,000. Third: $500.

A shortlist of 5 will be announced on 21 October. Winners will be announced at a function in Auckland during November 2011.

The judging panel comprises Sue Gee, Renee Liang and Stevan Eldred-Grigg.

She shared her own experiences of living in Africa and its impact on her world-view. She stressed the importance of building linkages between the African communities here and their home in Africa. She said the event was to give recognition and acknowledgement of the African communities in Wellington.

The Mayor was followed by South African High Commissioner Anthony Le Clerk Kgwadu Mongalo, who spoke of the need to build linkages between the Africa and New Zealand. Like the Mayor, he emphasised the importance of social and cultural connections and business incentives. He floated the idea of an annual Africa Day celebration and the saw a need for a national pan-African organisation.

The evening continued with entertainment from local culture talents: R ‘n B singer TK, Sam Manzanza and Fungisai Foreman. Jazz poet Lewis Scott concluded with a poem drawing on a childhood experience in the US and a similar experience as an adult while in Africa.

Event highlights included three solo exhibitions by international artists: Ani O’Neill (Cook Islands), Gary Lee (Australia) and Wellington-based Sheyne Tuffery; heritage arts workshops and the Auckland premiere of “Kingdom of Lote” written by Suli Moa and produced by Kila Kokonut Krew.

A South Auckland edition of Pecha Kucha Night, a fun and fast-paced evening of live social networking was held at the new Mangere Arts Centre – Ngā Tohu o Uenuku to launch the Summit.

Pacific Arts coordinator Ema Tavola says “the 2011 South Auckland Pacific Arts Summit celebrated a vibrant, visible and prospering culture of Pacific arts appreciation in South Auckland. This year’s Summit represented the growth of a local idea into a regionally relevant multidisciplinary arts programme delivered across the breadth of the new South Auckland!”

The Summit took place in venues from Papakura to Otara, Mangere to Manukau, in galleries, theatres, tertiary institutions and market places. It was a platform that encouraged emerging artists to learn and be inspired by mid-career and established artists who shared their experience to support the development of informed and sustainable creative practices.

The Summit was held in Auckland on 5 May to report back on the Taskforce’s work, share economic analyses, workshop ideas and build networks amongst the 200 or so business, community and government representatives in attendance. The Summit included presentations from the Minister of Māori Affairs, Finance Minister, and BERL advisors including Chief Economist Dr Ganesh Nana. Taskforce members gave presentations or written reports on Māra Kai, training and employment initiatives, business guidance resources, the development of networks in China and the case study of Koura Inc.

According to BERL reporting commissioned by the Taskforce, the Māori economy now has an estimated asset base of $36.9 billion. The Summit was an important event to recognise the growing strength of the Māori economy, discuss challenges and strategies for further growth.

Originally an international student from South India (near Chennai), Rosie now lives here permanently and is passionate for supporting international students and migrants – especially women.

Those attending Chai and Chat include kiwis (incl. NZ-born people, ‘new’ and ‘old’ migrants), international students, and international students’ partners. The numbers have doubled since the first meeting with around 40 women attending.

Dr Vivienne Anderson from Otago University says “Rosie is a very warm and friendly person and a real Dunedin unsung hero. She is a volunteer chaplain on campus here at Otago University, and spends many unpaid hours supporting/liaising with/ cooking for (!) international students and migrants in the community. Rosie is a well-known force behind multiethnic community-based events in Dunedin (e.g. Race Relations Day celebrations), and is well-loved for her commitment to supporting people and ability to bring people together.”

Chai & Chat, a weekly child-friendly social group for women of all ethnicities to meet, chat and enjoy food together.

Each of the branches in Wellington City Libraries’ north cluster (Tawa, Johnsonville and Khandallah) have set up a Crafters’ Knitting Corner , a space where people can sit down, take a moment to unwind with a bit of wool and knit or crochet a few rows or a square (20cm by 20cm) towards a peggy-square blanket. The squares will be sewn together to form blankets which will be donated to refugees coming this month from such diverse places as: Somalia, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Sri Lanka.

The corner has proven extremely popular with library visitors. Both children and adults have sat down in the library to knit squares, people have donated wool, or brought in squares they have knitted at home. One customer has even donated a whole blanket!

So if you are visiting one of these libraries, check it out.

Johnsonville Library

The event provided an opportunity for the Wellington Maori Business community to meet with members of the Wellington Chinese Business Community and for both groups to showcase their respective businesses. Fourteen businesses from the Maori community and twelve from the Chinese community participated.

Two of the Chinese business representatives flew in especially from Auckland for the event, which was described by one participant as “…very well organised in a fantastic setting conducive to business in a relaxed atmosphere…” 

Both Te Awe and Wellington City Council were delighted at how well the event was received by the communities and are keen to continue promoting the building of strong relationships.

The latest Refugee Services Aotearoa newsletter, reports that every week, Samson conducted writing exercises for which he would bring in an inspiration piece. “It could be a photo, a newspaper article, a painting, anything,” he is quoted as saying. “Then the participants would write their own story or poem inspired by that particular thing. They produced a piece of writing every week, and at the end of the workshop, they had all these writing skills, so they could go away and produce their own work.”

 For Samson, one of the highlights was seeing the growth of each of the young writers with whom he was working. “It was fantastic to see them communicating, achieving, affecting each other, supporting each other,” he says. “It was one of the greatest gifts of my life to see them achieving together, saying to themselves, ‘I can do this. I can communicate through literature.’”

The workshop sessions gave the participants the opportunity to share their experiences and their refugee journeys and to reflect together on what it meant to them to be a refugee. For Margaret Lakot Pompeo, one of the workshop participants, this was one of the most significant parts of the process.

Developing her communication skills and building her confidence also had a significant affect on Margaret. “For me this was a very good experience in my life because now I can communicate and talk in front of people,” she says. “I haven’t been able to do that before now. [Creative outlets like this] encourage young people who may be isolated and show them that they can meet people from different places. It helps them learn how to communicate.”

Beyond the Dark Journey was launched at Wellington City Libraries on16 March. For more information or to order, download the order form here.

Topics ranged from children’s rights to economic development, education, health, the environment, justice, Maori and Pacific Island affairs, social development and substance abuse. UN Youth Aotearoa New Zealand (formerly UNYANZ, the United Nations Youth Association of NZ, is a branch of the NZ United Nations Association, and has a very active programme promoting youth involvement in global issues of national importance. Its next major activity is the annual Model United Nations which will be held at Parliament from 2-5 July, where high school students represent UN member states in debates on topical issues including indigenous rights. 

The introduction to the Declaration notes that “The Youth Declaration aims to minimise public misconceptions and demonstrate that young people care about the governance and policies of their local communities. The document is the product of vibrant youth from all walks of life converging to learn about, contest and articulate a better future fort our country. This is the challenge to those who represent them: a challenge to invigorate, make progress and be courageous.”

Present to receive the declaration at the closing session were representatives of the Ministry of Youth Development, the UN Association, Auckland City Council, the Children’s Commissioner, MP Jacinda Ardern and the Race Relations Commissioner.

More than 90 people took part this year, setting out on Good Friday at the Hare Krishna temple in Riverhead.  A long lunch at the Karma Choeling Buddhist Temple in Wainui, which has the largest statue of Buddha of its kind in the Southern hemisphere, is another tradition.

Leaving the Hare Krishna Temple in Riverhead – Day 1

On Easter Sunday members of the Hibiscus Coast Presbyterian community led the walkers in an Easter service  as a prelude to the longest day, 17kms from Wainui to Puhoi.  The route included the Stairway to Heaven, St Peter’s Gate, and the Remembering Jenni Tree, ending with a prayer and singing of the national anthem at the historic church of Sts Peter & Paul in Puhoi.

The three-day walk, now in its fifth year, raised over $9,000 for the Hibiscus Hospice and, with its growing popularity, will be repeated over Easter weekend in 2012.

The seven-part series, “China and Us”, examined the way China and the Chinese are changing the way we live in New Zealand and was one of the most comprehensive series about the Chinese communities that has been published in a New Zealand newspaper.

Between April 9 and April 16, the Herald daily devoted at least two pages to features, profiles and opinion pieces and on a variety of themes: food and leisure, education and jobs, media and small business, housing and lifestyles, race relations and politics. The newspaper also produced a 10-page supplement on investment and trade with China.

The editorial accompanying the final in the series noted that the influence of China and Chinese in New Zealand impacted many aspects of life:  that East Asian names dominate prize givings, that Asians still suffer slurs about driving and crime which, as the series had pointed, was ill-founded, that Chinese immigration had been a powerful force in the pre 2007 housing boom, that China’s demand for our commodities had helped sustain the economy through the recent financial crisis. “[China’] living, travelling and leisure habits are boosting Auckland’s housing density, public transport and inner city life. Chinese are a significant part of this country now, enriching it in every way.”

To read the China and Us series online go to nzherald.co.nz.

A map on the wall at the Jewish Community Centre on Sunday evening 3 April highlighted the Afghani, Assyrian, Burmese, Cambodian, Colombian, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Iraqi, Oromo, Somali, Sudanese, Rwandan, Ugandan and Zimbabwean refugee communities in Wellington.

MC Natalie Gianoutsos provided lively introductions to the seven colourful and skilful dance groups who provided the evening’s multicultural entertainment.

The Israeli Dance Group was followed by a pair of young women from the Indian classical-style Mudra Dance Company, dancing in the Bharata-Natyam style. Three Samoan girls aged 7, 5 and 3 performed the siva. A group of Thai children performed an Esan dance from north-east Thailand. Then came a distinctly high energy performance from the Kildunne School of Irish Dance, followed by the Britannic Bedlam Morris Gentlemen.

Finally, a Multicultural Fantasy Dance was performed by Asian Fusion, a multicultural group made up of dancers from Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Philippines, Samoa and Germany.

All costs of the evening, including a splendid supper to finish, were met by the Jewish community, so that the total door and raffle proceeds of $1000 went to Changemakers towards the purchase of sewing machines for sewing classes for refugees.

A popular keynote speaker was Farah Pandith, the US Government’s Special Representative to Muslim Communities. A debate on diversity pitted Dr Manuka Henare and an irreverent team comprising comedian Raybon Kan and broadcaster Ali Ikram against Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres, Professor Paul Spoonley and Priyanca Rhadakrishnan on the question of multiculturalism contributing to social cohesion.. Chair Ruth de Souza declared a draw.

The second conferernce takes place in Wellington on 6-7 May, and will feature Pino Migliorino, Chair, Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Council of Australia as keynote speaker. For the full programme, and enrolment, visit EthnicA Conference, Wellington.

The exhibition explores the road to tino rangatiratanga in three segments – whakapapa, mana and kaitiakitanga:

The Whakapapa segment explores identity. It does this through key taonga: waka; whare tūpuna (ancestral meeting houses); and ta moko.

The Mana segment explores leadership through the interconnections between the concept of mana and symbols that reflect it:

 *   objects for personal adornment – pounamu, and cloaks of great prestige
 *   customary musical instruments – taonga pūoro
 *   the Māori language itself – te reo Māori.

The Kaitiakitanga segment explores guardianship, responsibility, and care between humans and the natural world. It highlights the role of Māori in finding global solutions for the challenges of natural resource management and environmental sustainability.

Go see it before it goes overseas. The combination of traditional and contemporary makes a powerful impression.

Deaf Aotearoa created the DVD in collaboration with NZSL, English and te reo Māori specialists to create an NZSL translation that is true to the meaning of the Māori and English words. It is presented in NZSL with Māori and English subtitles. Deaf Aotearoa are offering to make one copy of the DVD available free to all primary and secondary schools who want to use it, and describe it as “an ideal teaching resource, which will enable all New Zealanders to learn, access and enjoy our national anthem in New Zealand’s three official languages”. Copies can be ordered by emailing communications@deaf.org.nz. The price is $15.00.

There are a wide range of events planned for NZ Sign Language Week from 2-8 May, which this year is based around learning NZSL @ work, @ home and @ play.

Learn @ Home – helping families to learn specific, practical, everyday signs, particularly those families with Deaf children/young children

Learn @ Work – introducing workplaces to specific signs which help to break down communication barriers and increase access to services for Deaf people

Learn @ Play – reaching everyday New Zealanders to raise awareness of NZSL enabling Deaf to be able to participate more freely in their local communities

NZSL Week 2011 is about encouraging all New Zealanders to learn NZSL that is relevant to their environment and Deaf Aotearoa is offering free sign language classes to workplaces, organisations and individuals.

Over 800 people attended the event which included bhangra, giddha, folk songs and drama performances. Vaisakhi is a very important day for Sikhs and one of the most colourful events in the Sikh calendar.

One of the performances during Vaisakhi

The major feature of the event was the participation of local Maori including Eru Thompson Kaumatua from Manurewa marae representing Auckland Council.

 The NZ Punjabi Cultural Association Papatoetoe started 10 years ago and meets every Saturday at 158 Kolmar Rd for Punjabi classes and cultural rehearsals.

Sacred Heart’s race relations activity pulled together their whole school to participate in forming a giant peace sign. In addition to this massive event – the head girl led the school in singing ‘Heal the World’ and Peace Foundation Cool Schools Mediators gave speeches about the history and importance of Race Relations day. It was a fantastic event organized with great enthusiasm with an outcome that produced not only a massive peace sign, but a vibrant, peaceful and excited atmosphere.

What sets Te Awa apart is its commitment to Te Reo Māori, with bilingual signage throughout the complex and extending to the road outside and the carpark areas. The first two stages of Te Awa were completed last year, and the third, including a new food and entertainment precinct, is due to open this month. Te Awa exceeds the commitment to te reo seen in public buildings and has taken private sector use of the language to a whole new level.

This year’s Race Relations Report, published in March, notes that business in general is now much more comfortable with te reo Māori, citing supermarket chain Progressive Enterprises’ participation in Māori Language Week last year and other examples, including Te Awa.  This year’s Māori Language Week, with the theme of Manaakitanga, will take place earlier than usual from 4-10 July.

About 9000 youngsters from 62 schools around Auckland – and some outside of the region – participated in the ASB-sponsored event. 

Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate was the host school, and the theme was: “Ko te kanorau te matua atua, ko te kotahitanga te koa – Diversity is the magic, Unity is the joy.”

Students competed on five stages – Cook Islands, Māori, Niue, Samoan and Tongan. There was also a Diversity stage featuring performances from a range of cultural groups including Chinese, Korean and Indian. This year’s event also included a speech competition in students’ own languages.

The festival is an iconic annual event that celebrates the pride and passion of young people from Auckland’s Māori, Pacific Island and other ethnic communities, and all that they bring to the future.

Around 10,000 people attended the event which showcased local Korean businesses in a variety of ways. It also introduced Korean traditional outdoor activities (playing Yut, Tu-Ho) and traditional foods (Kim-Chi and Citron Tea and tea ceremony).

Society president Justin Yang said “it was a great opportunity to expose our cultural heritage to the New Zealand society and strengthen our Korean community’s unity. We also dedicated this big event for the New Zealand-wide campaign to raise money for Christchurch.”

All profits from the day will be donated to those affected by the Christchurch earthquake. To date the Society has raised more than $60,000.00 for the victims of the earthquake.

The Korean Society of Auckland was established in 1992.  It currently represents 35,000 Korean migrants living in New Zealand.

Drawing on volunteers, Community Radio Hamilton, Fresh FM [Nelson], Access Manawatu [Palmerston North], Arrow FM [Masterton] and Taranaki Access Radio [New Plymouth] have taken five key messages provided by the Office of Ethnic Affairs and translated and recorded them into Spanish, Fijian, Portuguese, Mandarin, Punjabi, Tamil, Japanese, Tagalog, Russian, and German with a number of extra languages still being added.

“Access Radio is at the heart of many migrant communities, and this project has certainly allowed us to play to our strengths”, says Community Radio Hamilton’s general manager Phil Grey. “Our Christchurch colleagues Plains FM have sadly been unable to play what we know would have been a huge part in the recovery so far, but if we can help get these messages to those in need, in their own first language, we’ve succeeded”.

The audio clips are all made available across the country and while mainly intended for Christchurch broadcasters to download and rebroadcast across the city, they’re freely available to anyone to download and share.

The messages can be heard at Access Radio’s website or on Te Upoko Radio (1161 AM); Wellington Access Radio (783AM); Tahu FM (90.5 FM); Planet Audio FM (104.6FM); Radio Kidnappers (1431 AM & 104.7FM); Access Radio Taranaki (104.4FM); Access Manawatu (999AM); Access Radio Kapiti (104.7FM); Arrow FM (92.7FM).

Teams from Fiji, Nigeria, Argentina, Romania, New Zealand, England and Kenya competed in the five-a-side friendly tournament. Rain forced the cancellation of the final between Indo-Fiji and Argentina so they were awarded first equal place.

There was also a craft activity, creating Harmony sticks, which provided a good way to chat with new people.  The band played all evening while people enjoyed the Argentinean food.  There was a continual hub of chatter and enjoyment. 

Eastern Southland Newcomers Network co-ordinator Maura Dakin was pleased with the turnout.  ‘‘We’re really, really excited,’’ Mrs Dakin said. Nine teams had pre- registered and more turned up on the day, she said.    “This is our third and best Race Relation Day celebration.  The committee, who formed to put on the day, contained many newcomers.”

Amidst shock and sorrow around the Christchurch earthquake, a sense of hope and celebration for the opening of the youth network was strongly present. The opening address was given by the Minister of Community Services and Associate Minister of Health Tariana Turia. Legendary world outdoor adventurer Graeme Dingle, who founded Project K and the Foundation for Youth Development was guest speaker.

The pilot phase of RYAN has run for the past 6 months with more than 90 young leaders of the future participating in outdoor leadership training run in Tai Tokerau by the Aramoana Centre of Ngati Wai.   

The three strands of RYAN are: Activities and Sport, Guidance and Career Path.     RYAN is now fully established and running as a collaborative community venture to foster youth leaders from the refugee communities.

The culminating event on Saturday 26, Indigo on Show – comprising cultural performances, demonstrations and food and craft markets in the Hamilton Gardens – unfortunately had to be first postponed, then cancelled, because of the weekend’s rain. The show is now happening on Saturday 9 April at the Meteor Theatre Victoria Street in Hamilton.

This did not detract from the varied programme throughout the previous week, however. There was a colourful street parade (Indigo Go) on Saturday 19, special Indigo menus at local restaurants throughout the week (Indigo Taste), an open day at local places of worship including a Sikh temple, a Buddhist centre, a Mosque, a Cambodian temple and a meditation centre on Sunday 20 (Indigo Faith), a diversity film festival and Race Relations Day reception at the Lido theatre (21-23 March), and a fashion parade  (Indigo Style) at the Clarence Theatre on Thursday 24. The Indigo Festival Trust is supported by the Hamilton Multicultural Services Trust, the Hamilton City Council and a wide range of local sponsors. We also acknowledge the Waikato Times for its extensive coverage of the Festival, profiling members of different ethnic communities during the week and devoting a full page to photos of the street parade .

The Festival runs from 25 March to 2 April. The major outdoor event, the world food, craft and music fair, is held in the Square, and was held despite heavy rain on the weekend and still attracted  thousands of people . It was preceded by a Lantern Parade on Friday March 25, celebrating pets in the Year of the Rabbit.

A film about Burmese refugees was shown for Race Relations Day, and a multiethnic football tournament, Ethkick, was held on Sunday 27. The library had displays and events throughout the week, including an Iranian exhibition, a Cook Island display, Maori and Chinese music and a Journey through Havana with the Cuban Ambassador.  The Taylor Jensen Gallery had an exhibition of traditional Korean needlework, and Te Manawa Museum held a Pecha Kucha night. The Chinese Association of Manawatu contributed an evening of Chinese music. A multicultural multi-denominational Christian service, Mosaic, was held at All Saint Anglican Church to celebrate the diversity of the Christian community in Palmerston North.

The Manawatu Standard is acknowledged for giving excellent coverage to the festival in a series of features.

The festival was organised by staff from both the Mangere East Community Learning Centre and Mangere East Library and featured a wide range of local acts – from Nga Mere Pounamu kapa haka group to local schools and community groups, performing Māori, Samoan, Niuean, Latin American, Rapanui, Indian, Tahitian and Cook Island cultural items. There was curry and a hangi, and information on the centre’s parenting, language and other programmes. The centre comprises a Learning Centre, an After School Centre and Samoa Atia-e i Magele. It offers a wide range of programmes in partnership & cooperation with other services, including the Ohomairangi Trust, Manukau Institute of Technology, English Language Partners, Pacific Education Centre, Aorere College Community Education, Autism NZ and local schools. The library also has a policy of being very open to community events and community engagement.

 “We are so lucky at Owairaka to have children from a variety of different cultures. On Monday 21 March we celebrated Race Relations Day by having children come to school in costumes from their culture. We had a special assembly in the morning and a whole school shared lunch. It was wonderful to have so many parents at school on this very special day.”

The school’s website has photos of some of the children in their cultural dress.

The organising team is a partnership between LIFEWISE, Inspiring Communities and Methodist Missions Aotearoa, all not-for-profit organisations with a focus on supporting strong local communities.  They also acknowledge support from many organisations across various sectors.

“It’s been great to see residents, community organisations and groups, local councils, authorities, and businesses coming together to support this vision”, says Rebecca Harrington (LIFEWISE project team member and founder of the Know Your Neighbours project on Auckland’s North Shore which was the beginning of Neighbours Day in NZ).  “We’re really grateful to the dozens of organisations who put a lot of effort into spreading the word.  We’ve formed special links with many other organisations who also support the vision of building stronger neighbourhoods. It’s been awesome to see how many people share our enthusiasm and understand the potential long-term benefits that begin from us knowing our neighbours better and that this could make a real difference to the quality of life in New Zealand.”

Over 50 organisations and 40 newspapers and radio stations around the country spread the word, as well as TVNZ’s Breakfast with Tamati Coffey on Friday 25 March .

“We hope Neighbours Day Aotearoa will become something that belongs to all New Zealanders,” says Rebecca, “The idea is to be a catalyst for building stronger neighbourhoods every day.  We hope this will become an annual celebration and ultimately an ongoing part of our Kiwi culture that will have a positive impact on our communities long term.”

For Neighbours Day stories visit  their website.

Throughout the country, marae, religious and community facilities have been opened to all for comfort, relief and accommodation. Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh,  Maori, European, Pacific,  Asian,  migrant, refugee and others too many to mention have rallied together,  collected money, dispatched goods, welcomed people, sent helpers.

The national observance of two minutes silence in so many different places a week later spoke louder than words: when it comes to the crunch, in all our diversity, we share a common humanity.   We will need to continue to show it in the months ahead, with generosity and without discrimination. Our thoughts are with everyone, everywhere, directly and indirectly affected by the disaster.

Children came to school with moko, in lavalavas, Irish, Dalmatian, and Asian costumes and even in All Blacks shirts, prompting them to ask each other about their different forms of dress and appearance.

The parade followed a school assembly on 22 February at which the principal spoke to parents about the changing world ethnically and culturally and how Tirimoana school prepares its students for that environment.

Tirimoana school’s welcoming website signals its inclusiveness and the opportunity for students to learn different languages and cultures.

Inspired by a shared desire to acknowledge the growing number of languages New Zealanders converse in today, the two organisations created the resources featuring greetings in 29 languages (and a guide to pronunciation). 

Languages include Arabic, English, Hindi, Mandarin, Māori, NZ Sign, Samoan, Vietnamese and many more.

The resources encourage people to use their mother tongue and teach others to have a go at saying ‘hello’ in another language. While many of these languages are mainly spoken in the home, International Mother Language Day showcases New Zealand’s increasing cultural diversity and highlights the opportunity Kiwis have to expand their social and economic connections globally.

The resources were made available in community locations and in schools and workplaces throughout New Zealand. Copies are still available from Grace Bassett or Sunita Narayan (with a small cost to cover postage and packaging.)

The Waitangi National Trust worked with the Tiaho Trust with support from the Office for Disability Issues to ensure Waitangi Day 2011 would be accessible to New Zealanders with hearing impairments through use of a tri-lingual interpreter. Tri-lingual interpreters are qualified interpreters fluent in Māori, New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) and English. Māori deaf people report that NZSL is a tool for them to access their culture and language.

So for the first time this year, the day was celebrated in New Zealand’s three official languages – te reo Māori, English and New Zealand Sign Language.

Disability Issues Minister Tariana Turia acknowledged the importance of tri-lingual celebrations. She said language is “important for any culture and to be able to see and hear your language on such a significant day for all new Zealanders is something that we should all feel proud about.”

CEO Jeanette Richardson said “inclusiveness is practiced at every level in the Waitangi National Trust, so we were pleased to support this excellent initiative. While the Treaty that was first signed here was originally between two partners, the Treaty Grounds has embraced and encouraged the involvement of all New Zealanders, as Lord Bledisloe intended when he and Lady Bledisloe made their great gift of the Waitangi estate.”

The Human Rights Chief Commissioner Rosslyn Noonan said “we look forward to tri-lingual interpretation being a permanent feature of Waitangi Day celebrations at Waitangi and indeed throughout the country in the years ahead.”

While Race Relations Day is not until 21 March, multicultural festivals organised by multicultural councils, local government and others take place throughout March. The celebration is held particularly early in Marlborough as most of the performers there work in the viticulture industry, and are occupied during the harvest.

Over five hours of performances by a wide range of different ethnic groups present in Marlborough provided entertainment. Among the 22 performers were 37 Kiribati vineyard workers who work for Provine contractors under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme.

There were also 15 information centres and 12 food stalls by various ethnicities including Brazilian, Chinese, Korean, Indian and Samoan.

Margaret Western Chair of the Migrant Centre said that the face of Marlborough has changed dramatically over the last few years.  The festival is a good way to celebrate this diversity for the new settlers as well as the various groups in Marlborough. She further states that with the 2000 people in attendance, it just proves to show how diverse Marlborough has become.

The migrant centre decided to go ahead with the festival despite the earthquake in Christchurch after feedback that it would be good to have something the Marlborough community could celebrate. The audience joined Brendan O’Hagan, from St Ninian’s church, in a moment’s silence and prayer for people who died in the earthquake and those still suffering.

For the many other Race Relations Day events that will take place from now till the end of March, check out the calendar of festivals and events. If you are planning an event, please advise nzdiversity@hrc.co.nz so that it can be added to the list.

The gardens, located on State Highway 1 just south of Otaki, grow a wide range of chilies and they have a very popular pick your own, which has just begun. To publicise the Race Relations Day event, Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres will be presented with a “hot chili garland” at Penray Gardens on Sunday 6 March.

The defending champion is a blonde blue-eyed 18 year old Kiwi lass from Paraparaumu who beat a line up of hardened staple chilli consumers from countries from the East!

The Kapiti Race Relations Day Celebration 2011 is a district wide event which will be held this year at the Paekakariki Memorial Hall from 11am-2pm. It is organized by the Kapiti International Friendship Group, Kapiti Ethnic Forum, Kapiti International Women’s Group and Kapiti Coast District Council. It involves a shared lunch from various cultures, with everyone encouraged to bring ethnic/cultural food to share with others. The event will also include cultural performances.

Eko-Arts Diversity Theatre now presents Crossing Lines – a professional theatre show backed by an exhibition – which has emerged from the process involved in bringing these communities together. It is part of the ongoing Southern Corridor Project by Eko that began over two years ago.  The project has offered a platform for people within these two communities to talk with the third community of Eko.

Heather Timms, the director of Crossing Lines is an Australian of Welsh, English and Dutch descent, who was born in Malaysia and spent her childhood in Hong Kong. She has worked with local Maori (in Te Rakau Hua O Te Wao Tapu) and directed projects involving some of South Wellington’s Somali community for Voice Arts Trust.

Crossing Lines: The Performance is theatre that starts with large projection and shadow imagery and moves to intimate and personal poetics. It is an exhilarating journey as the audience travels though sites in the large warehouse venue. At the heart of Crossing Lines are performances by four young actors, two Māori & two Somali responding to contemporary questions of insider & outsider relationships & belonging.

The exhibition is an interactive installation of voice and image representing the 400 people who have been part of the project over the last two years.  Ranging from school children from Berhampore School, South Wellington Intermediate, Wellington East Girls and Rongotai College through to the Wellington Tenths Trust and the Somali Council, people’s stories are shown as both special and universal in their attitude to land, identity and relationships.

Says Heather Timms: “Through artistic exploration the perspectives of 400 people who have been part of the project so far form “Crossing Lines”. The innovative inter art presentation will inspire and entertain diverse audiences.”

The production runs from 9-20 March 2011, at 70 Cable St, Wellington (opposite Te Papa).  Exhibition is open from 10.30am-5.30pm, free entry. There are two daily performances at 6pm & 8.30pm. No show Monday.  Tickets $5 children, $10 concession, $20 waged.  The final performances on 20 March are dedicated to Race Relations Day which falls on 21 March.

For bookings contact 04 384-9988 or eko.bookings@gmail.com or https://www.patronbase.com/_TOI/Productions.

In 2009 the Committee for Auckland undertook a number of collaborative initiatives including holding over 30 hui with key stakeholders, convening an Iwi-Business consortium steering committee and piloting a Māori cadetship. The activities in 2009 represented only the first steps on the journey.

In 2010 the Committee for Auckland was awarded further funding to deliver Phase 2 of the project and established the Māori Business Strategy Network (MBSN).  MBSN worked with Auckland corporates and tertiaries to identify employment opportunities for Māori graduates.  The Network was able to place graduates into corporate employment with Deloitte, Jasmax and South Pacific Architecture. 

In May 2010 a leadership hui was held jointly with Ngāti Whātua at Ōrakei marae with iwi leaders, attended by the Prime Minister, Minister of Māori Affairs, and 100 corporate leaders. The group is currently planning a further Iwi-Business hui in partnership with Tainui in June 2011.

The project was able to build new relationships between corporate and iwi leaders, and contributed to greater understanding by Auckland corporate of iwi/Māori imperatives, priorities and visions. This included addressing the under-representation of Māori in leadership positions in corporate Auckland and opportunities for placements, secondments, mentoring and internships for Māori graduates with Committee for Auckland operating as the matching hub.

The 12 hour music extravaganza was held at the Paeroa racecourse and featured an impressive line up of New Zealand musicians and artists, complemented by an array of local kai delicacies, Māori arts, crafts and fashion, exhibits by local service providers and Taonga Māori – Ta Moko, Waka and Raranga demonstrations.

The infamous Aunty Mabel was the MC along with Lana Garland. Entertainment was provided by Ardijah, 1814, Pitch Black, Whirimako, Dam Native, Chantdown, Native 

As one of those who attended said on Facebook subsequently: “Kotahitanga has made history in Paeroa. If it becomes an annual event, then it will only get bigger and better! Massive shout out to everyone involved, organizers, race course committee, sound engineers, stalls, Māori warders, security, all the staff, St Johns crew, bands and most of all the tangata that came to support.”

The Express ran a series of features in the lead-up to the festival, including Filipina has passion for salsa, Growing up with the best of three worlds and Harmony achieved through dance, and followed up with a report on Blenheim Celebrates Diversity.

The local radio station, Classic Hits Marlborough recorded and played messages from local communities in nine different languages, and did a series of interviews in the lead up to the festival. Their website gave further publicity to the event. Classic Hits radio host Scott Radovanovich also acted as MC on the day.

The Race Relations Commissioner is challenging media elsewhere to match Marlborough media’s efforts to publicise and contribute to Race Relations Day events through stories and features on aspects of race relations and diversity, and promoting local activities.

It is a fascinating DVD with women from the community explaining their family history and passing on knowledge about their weaving patterns, traditional tools and practices. It also includes traditional song and dance from Tokelau.  As well as selling the DVD, they intend to donate copies to Tokelau language centres, pre-schools and schools, libraries and the Maori Pacific Archive at Auckland University. The DVD has English subtitles to make it more accessible to a wider audience.

For more information contact paul.wolffram@vuw.ac.nz.

To read of these places so far away in time and space and to find them linked to the familiar streets and suburbs of Wellington and other New Zealand towns and cities in the story of a living New Zealander is to be forcefully reminded of the horrors of that time. Clare Galambos Winter went on to become a violinist in the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra for 33 years, and her violin and music are at the heart of her entire life story. Through her research and collaboration with Clare, Sarah Gaitanos has told a complex story very simply, placing it in the context of the times both in Europe and in New Zealand. 

The book was launched at Parliament on United Nations International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, and the large audience was deeply moved when Clare, now 87 years old, made a brief speech. She has in recent years contributed with other Holocaust survivors in Wellington to the work of the Wellington Holocaust Research and Education Centre.  The book is published by Victoria University Press.

Eleven year old Marian Sun and eight year old Henry Luo were stars of the show as highly entertaining bilingual MC’s for the first half (as well as taking part in some of the children’s dance items) and there were many other highlights including Royal New Zealand Ballet dancers Qi Huan and Liu Yang, violinist Chris Ma from Christchurch, and a number of soloists and Chinese and other community cultural groups.

The Manawatu Chinese Community Trust operates a hotline for Chinese migrants as well as providing a range of cultural, language, social and educational activities.

The lecture is recorded by Radio New Zealand and broadcast on Waitangi Day. Previous speakers have been Professor Alan Ward, Dame Ann Salmond, Sir Howard Morrison, Professor Whatarangi Winiata, Dame Joan Metge, and Sir Rodney Gallen. This year lecture was given by Sir Doug Kidd on January 29, and will be broadcast on Radio New Zealand National at 7.30 pm on Sunday 6 February. Sir Doug canvassed issues of migration, in particular the circumstance of the increasing number of young Māori and other New Zealanders who will not be able to return to the land of their ancestors because they do not qualify under the current definition of citizen by descent. 

A new website containing all the lectures to date, www.ruarautau.maori.nz  was also launched at the event.

This year’s journal profiles 31 new graduates in a wide variety of fields from universities and polytechs in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and the South Island, bringing the total number of graduates since 1997 to 147. A further 178 undergraduates are listed, showing the keen interest of this small refugee community in gaining educational qualifications. Each graduate is individually profiled, with information about when they came to New Zealand, where they went to school, their educational and career choices and their community involvement and interests. In a “community corner” section of the Journal there are profiles of a successful athlete, a business youth leaders and members of school boards of trustees.

A new website featuring Somali community development in New Zealand is under construction. For further information contact abdirizak.abdi@minedu.govt.nz.

Last year, Toi Māori Aotearoa  and the Museum van Volkenkunde in Leiden brought to fruition a plan to house a specially carved waka, Te Hono ki Aotearoa, at the Museum for display in a specially carved waka shelter and for use on ceremonial occasions in Europe. It was launched at Aurere in the Bay of Islands in June and then with elaborate ceremony and much publicity in Leiden in October. The ceremonial waka is on permanent loan to the Volkenkunde Museum, and the Njord Royal Rowing Club will work alongside museum staff to maintain and crew the waka while it is in their care. It will be used by Toi Aotearoa for ceremonial occasions throughout Europe.

In celebrating the project, Museum director Steven Engelsman has said that the waka is a tremendous way of celebrating historic links and forging new connections between the Netherlands and New Zealand. Arts and Culture Minister Chris Finlayson said that a large-scale investment by another country in Maori arts and culture was a “landmark event for New Zealand.”

This year’s overview was prepared by Celine Wills, who completed her Graduate Diploma at Victoria University last year, and has since been accepted into the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Auckland. The overview is now available on the Centre’s website, and the 2010 Race Relations Report will be published in March. 

Directors Colleen Ward and James Liu note that “As in previous years, health, employment and well-being across New Zealand’s diverse ethnic populations are common research themes. Whanau/families appear to be a more common focus of research, while noticeably absent from this year’s overview are studies on international students. In addition, we see minimal research with refugees, although the Department of Labour’s Quota Refugees +10 project goes some way to addressing this imbalance.”

The book now covers the work of the Waitangi Tribunal, the impact of major treaty settlements on iwi and the economy, and legislation such as the Foreshore and Seabed Act. Today, Māori and non-Māori are all affected by the terms of the Treaty, and few can be unaware of its significance, no matter how its place in the country’s history is viewed.

A recent survey published in the Human Rights Commission’s annual review of the Treaty found a majority of New Zealanders (61%) now agree that the Treaty is New Zealand’s founding document, and (51%) that it is for all New Zealanders. There is room for improvement in these figures, and a new edition of Claudia Orange’s book will continue to provide a basis for that over time.

Claudia grew up in a family where Maori affairs were a daily concern.  She has been closely involved in discussions over the Treaty in relation to court hearings and the Waitangi Tribunal.   After many years as the General Editor of the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, she is currently Collections and Research Group Director at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Up and coming young Hong Kong-born conductor Perry So led the orchestra and he was joined by 24 year-old violinist Tianwa Yang, a former child prodigy who was described as “The Pride of China” when she was only 11 years old. The concert took the form of a journey from East to West and the old world to the new.

 It opened with Chinese-American composer Bright Sheng’s Postcards, which draws a series of colourful pictures of a mystical, old-world Chinese landscape. It moved through a newer China with arias from Jack Body’s opera Alley – which is based on the life of the New Zealand born-poet of the Chinese Revolution, Rewi Alley. From there it continued to the warmth of Spain and the piquant rhythms and melodies of Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole.   The musical odyssey came to a conclusion in America with Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9.  The Orchestra’s acknowledgment of the Chinese New Year has generated much positive response from the Chinese community, as well as bringing stellar young Chinese artists to a wider New Zealand audience.

The kura has this year participated in the Human Rights Commission’s Tūhonohono Māori project, which promotes human rights in Māori communities. The Commission’s Ahi Kaa Team assisted the kura with workshops in July and September on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC), the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and other international treaties. They discussed the whakapapa of human rights, the language of human rights, human rights in the community, Te Mana i Waitangi, the right to education and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Staff member Anahera Scott says, “Human rights fit into our charter, not just the curriculum, it underpins everything we do.”  As a Kura Tika Tangata, the school is committing itself both to teach human rights and to create an environment that reflects human rights and responsibilities. The ceremony will be attended by Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres and Gisborne based Human Rights Commissioner Karen Johansen, and will be the culmination of a week of human rights related activities at the kura.

On their website they say (and we agree) ”We tell our stories through the eyes of the local residents who are affected by the events and issues in our suburbs. We take their concerns and complaints and dreams and represent them to the decision-makers – particularly important in a metropolis where everyday folk often don’t have a clue who their local representative is. That doesn’t mean printing only the good news: we can rip the scabs off the sores, too. We’ve done that through the years. We’re changing the law about where and how many liquor stores and pokie parlours can be sited in a suburb and reinstating the community’s right to object to licences, we’ve changed the law about disabled parking cheats, we’ve taken on food hygiene, childcare and racial issues.” 

This week, one of their small team of reporters, Welsh-born Joanna Davies, was awarded runner up in the annual Excellence in Reporting Diversity Awards, for a portfolio of stories on diverse communities. We think the whole team - which currently has staff from the Philippines, Germany, Zimbabwe, Scotland, Wales, South Africa, Japan, India, France and Pasifika …as well as New Zealand! - also deserves acknowledgment for their consistent reporting of diverse peoples and their issues in Auckland.

The forum was held under the auspices of Christchurch City Council, NZ Police, Christchurch Resettlement Services, Human Rights Commission, MSD Family and Community Services and Oceania Football. It was brought together by youth workers Jo Fashuen (Christchurch Resettlement Services), Gary Watson (Christchurch City Council), Aaron Webb (Sport Canterbury), Kate Brown and John Robinson (Christchurch Police). It followed on from the forum on diversity and sport at the New Zealand Diversity Forum in Christchurch in August, and was run in conjunction with the New Zealand Communities Football Cup .  Junior Warriors player Omar Slaimankhel joined the young people for the day and told the story of his family coming to New Zealand as refugees and how he overcame the barriers to become a winning national representative player.

Barriers identified at the forum included culture, language, cost, access to public facilities and safety. Suggestions made included a call to open up the various ethnic sports tournaments around the country to girls and women, for sports clubs to visit community meetings and events to provide information,  communication with  parents about the importance of sport alongside education, sponsorship of players, greater access to facilities and provision of safe spaces for young people of different cultures,  payment of membership fees in instalments,  more ethnic community teams and events, and (especially in Christchurch) cycling lessons. Next year’s Culture Galore festival was seen as an opportunity for sports clubs to provide information to communities.

Speak Out Nelson Tasman is an initiative of the Nelson Multicultural Council with the support of government agencies, the Nelson Safer Community Council and the Human Rights Commission.

Project coordinator Alistair Webber says the user friendly system allows racism to be reported confidentially on the Speak Out website, to a free call number or face to face at several community centres, with reporting done by victims, witnesses or support people.
“We’ll be logging all reports and referring victims to the appropriate agency for action, depending on how they want to handle it,” he said. “Victims decide whether they provide their personal details for follow up or they can remain anonymous.”

A racist incident is defined as ‘any incident that is perceived by the victim to be racist’. It ranges from incidents involving racist insults, through to serious assaults.
“The intention is to make Nelson Tasman safer for people of all cultures,” Mr. Webber said. “We’ve got fantastic support from the community – from the police, councils, educational institutions and numerous other groups.”

“The Speak Out website has the tag line ‘There are no strangers here’ which reflects the reality this is a welcoming community with just a few people who spoil that,” he said.

The Speak Out Nelson Tasman reporting system is based on recommendations from the research report, Towards a Reporting System in Nelson/Tasman: Diverse Communities Speak by Debbie Kohner, a Human Rights lawyer from Northern Ireland, which was published in August 2009. Debbie interviewed 184 people from 48 different ethnicities in focus groups over a period of months. Her findings indicated a very high percentage had experienced or witnessed racism but that very few had reported it. Significantly a large percentage – over 80% – indicated they would report such incidents if there was a user friendly way to do so.

Visit the website of Speak Out Nelson Tasman or call their free number 0508 Speak Out (0508 773 256).

The project was made possible with support from the Canterbury Community Trust.

Principal Bruce Hart said this was the first time the staff had chosen to mark Diwali and they had really enjoyed the opportunity to dress in traditional Indian clothes and learn some Indian dance and songs.  ”We have had feedback from Indian students who thought it was great to see so many teachers supporting their culture. But they would have liked the opportunity to attend school themselves in their national dress.”  

A Diwali evening followed, described by drama teacher David Gilbert as follows: “I really enjoyed the Diwali evening, I got to meet the most amazing people, full of enthusiasm and a passion for sharing the richness of their various cultures, The colours the costumes the food, the multicultural entertainment and the love and respect shown towards the audience, performers, and the organisers,”

Principal Hart said “Based on the success of the day I think we would be keen to make it an annual event and to give an opportunity for our students to join in.  It is good for our student body as a whole to see different cultures in the school being recognised and affirmed.”

The youth leaders saw the exhibition as an opportunity to promote cross-cultural understanding of Asia. The photos in the exhibition were taken in countries as diverse as China, Cambodia, Japan, Vietnam, Mongolia and India.

More than showing the sights and customs of Asia, around 50 photos in the free public exhibition tell the stories of the young leaders themselves – their physical travel as well as their mind journeys to Asia and back. It’s a chance to put on display the ways in which Asia is shaping these young people.

Individual photo journeys are organised in three spaces:

“‘Feeling at Home” illustrates places in Asia close to the young leaders’ hearts.

“A Stranger in a Strange Country” explores the ways in which one’s familiar environment can feel unfamiliar to others or even to the returning travelers themselves.

“‘I’m Home, Who Am I Now?” includes photos through which the young leaders have tried to reflect on how their travels in Asia have shaped a new, different outlook on life.

Once Upon a Time in Asia runs from 25 November-23 December and is free and open to the public at the first floor gallery, St James Theatre, Courtenay Place.

The participating choirs came from the Cook Islands, Tonga, Philippines, Samoa, Zimbabwe and they were joined by a kapa haka group.

Samoan Assembly of God

Violet Stewart, coordinator for the Southland Multicultural Council said “For me I think the highlight was the positive comments afterwards of people of all ethnicities not only enjoying themselves but having a feeling of unity and belonging.”  She said Rainbow Praise has the potential to become an annual event.  Singing groups who participated are already talking about joining in again next year.

Other communities are encouraged to take up the idea of Rainbow Praise for Race Relations Day in March, particularly since the theme for 2011 is People in Harmony.

Many of the migrant, refugee and international students groups interviewed had said it was difficult to find out information about the health services available in the City.

A Health Information Day was held at the Palmerston North Convention Centre on 20 November with 20 Health Information stall holders providing information on some of the most often asked questions – when do I call the ambulance, how do I find a doctor, when do I go to the hospital or to the Doctor, how do I find out about arthritis, diabetes, cancer, pregnancy and many other issues.

Around 100 refugee, migrants and international students came to the event.  Besides providing information, the different health groups were able to meet each other and discuss how best to work with refugees, migrants and international students.

This year’s convention was hosted by the South Auckland Muslim Association, in conjunction with the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand, and followed the successful inaugural convention in Mt Roskill in 2009.  The goal of the convention is to building strong families by encouraging more active participation in community welfare and sports activities.  The diversity of the Muslim community in New Zealand was again evident, with people from over forty different ethnic groups.

The governance group is jointly facilitated by the Auckland Council and the Department of Labour. Co-chairs Louise Mason (Auckland Council) and Stephen Dunstan (Department of Labour) acknowledged that the new Auckland Council environment presented an opportunity to further the refreshed strategy and build on the best practice collaborations between agencies already developed. The presentation highlighted how the strategy is shaping its role as a regional enabler of Auckland’s economic growth and social prosperity. “As Auckland’s bid for global competitiveness accelerates, a key indicator of its long term prosperity is its capacity to attract international populations and help them settle and contribute to its future prosperity.”  

Innovations achieved as a result of the strategy include the establishment of a regional diversity advisor network and internal initiatives by the eight regional territorial authorities, and the development of resources for health practitioners working with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) clients by Waitemata District Health Board Health Support Services.  Others achievements noted were a cultural diversity pilot project in schools, better access to child disability services, a primary health telephone interpreting service, safety in the city initiatives, better monitoring and reporting on migrant health, development of a collective refugee voice, and better information for refugee services. The refreshed strategy provides for further cooperation and projects and covers the period until 2014. It brings together the various goals of the strategy under four headings of connecting mainstream services, connecting economic values, connecting communities and connecting infrastructure.

Waikato Museum director Kate Vusoniwailala said while tangata whenua exhibitions can sometimes fail to connect ancient treasures with their descendants, the fact that Ngaa Pou Whenua was developed alongside each iwi sets it apart. “Ngaa Pou Whenua is aimed at making Tainui culture and stories accessible to everyone, and is presented in a modern way to appeal to a strong youth market. “It is important for Tainui youngsters to see their treasures and culture celebrated – this exhibition is all about providing a platform for the people of Tainui to share and for others to hear and learn their stories.”

Ngaa Pou Whenua is sponsored by Trust Waikato, Creative New Zealand, Te Puni Kokiri, The Southern Trust, Waikato-Tainui Te Kauhanganui Inc and Perry Foundation, and will remain on display at Waikato Museum for at least three years. Visit  Waikato Museum for more information.

When MSD Settling In Relationship Manager Lily Lee was coordinating the Albany Settling In Project last year, the women approached her for help with issues of isolation.  Lily helped the women set up a more formal network which now meets weekly at the Albany Community House.  The women design their own programme which includes: advice on legal issues, starting a small business, how to access government services and sessions on healthy living and parenting in the New Zealand context. MSD Settling In supports the group’s own fundraising activities by providing venues and resources.

“This project is important because the Korean community traditionally keeps to itself.  This network has given the women confidence and marks the beginning of their integration into New Zealand society,” Lily says.

The Korean Women’s Network NZ (KWNNZ) was involved in the March 2010 launch of the Settling In Albany report by organising a Korean contingent and a children’s choir.  They helped welcome guests, liaise with the media and Korean dignitaries.

Soo Young Lee, the coordinator of the KWNNZ says the women were thrilled to be involved in this way.  “Through this function, our members had a great opportunity to join in the community.  It made us feel that we are part of the main society, plus we made lots of new networks and friends”, says Soo Young.

The network has had a huge impact on their lives they now also have a full schedule of activities, workshops and social outings planned and also recently organised a Korean interpreter.

“They are finding out so many new things about New Zealand and are happy to be meeting each other and getting out of the house.  We are very grateful.  We want to contribute to New Zealand and help it become a truly multicultural society, says Soo Young.

The reunions have been taking place since 1991. Now called Pistang Pilipino, this year’s event was organised by the North Shore Filipino Community, one of the largest Filipino communities in New Zealand, and attracted nearly 10,000 people from around the country to sports competitions and an abundance of Filipino foods on the North Shore, and two cultural and competition nights at the Edge in central Auckland. Next year’s reunion will be held in Christchurch.

On Saturday evening at the Edge, the Philippines Charge d’Affaires presented the Filipino Achiever Award to Lower Hutt artist Josephine Garcia-Jowett (Jojo). Jojo was born in the Philippines and moved to New Zealand in 1990. She was a Registered Naval Architect and a Marine Engineer but had always desired to be an artist. Since moving to New Zealand she has pursued this dream and her works reflect her emotions and experiences through a variety of mediums and a very unique insight. A tragic accident took the life of her husband Roy and Jojo has been faced with raising her children alone and in a foreign country since. Her work reflects these feelings of being torn between two worlds.

This year’s report, once again by veteran Asia Downunder journalist Bharat Jamnadas, was aired in October. After an overview of the wide range of events at the forum, the programme focused on a workshop on Asian discrimination hosted by Victoria University’s Centre for Applied Cross-cultural Research where a new research report on the subject was released and discussed. The Asia Downunder forum report is available on Asia Downunder’s YouTube Channel.

In the planning stage, it was noted that women from faith communities often had less access to expressing their ideas and creative voice. MIC Toi Rerehiko was contracted to run the planned community arts project to enable diverse women to make, edit and showcase their own digital stories on the theme of faith, hope and belief.

The women worked with artist mentor Serena Stevenson over several months to develop their digital stories and learn the artistic skills to complete the project. Some chose to tell their migration and life stories, while others explored their faith and what it means to belong. The resulting DVD is collection of touching stories, a celebration of multiculturalism in Auckland, and a reflection of the intrinsic relationship between culture and faith.  The film was launched on 20 October at Galatos in Auckland.

MIC Toi Rerehiko promotes a dynamic and growing culture of interdisciplinary media-arts practice in Auckland and New Zealand, supporting an environment of innovation, in which fusion of art and technology is developed and nurtured.

The tournament, now in its fifth year, is organised by the Upper Hutt Multi Ethnic Council with the support of the Upper Hutt City Council and SportZone. It celebrates cultural and ethnic diversity and in particular provides an opportunity for socialising and networking among communities in the Hutt Valley and Wellington. It provides a friendly environment for new migrants and refugees to build confidence and break barriers to participating in mainstream soccer events in the winter soccer clubs. Twenty teams from all over the region took part this year.

The winning Somalia team will now participate in the national ethnic soccer tournament to be held in Christchurch on 27-28 November under the auspices of the NZ Police and the Oceania Football Federation. The national tournament will be preceded by a youth workshop on diversity and sport at Hagley College.

The Middle Eastern, Latin American and African (MELAA) ethnicity grouping consists of extremely diverse cultural and  religious groups. In the 2006 census, 1% of the New Zealand population identified as MELAA and half resided in the Auckland region. Today, 28,637 people in Auckland identify as being MELAA; approximately 14,000 are Middle Eastern, 3000 are Latin American and 11,000 are African. This group is one of the fastest growing population groups and has unique health needs not fully met by mainstream health services.

The Health Needs Analysis Report was commissioned by the Northern DHB Support Agency on behalf of the Auckland Regional Settlement Strategy Health Steering Group, which represents Waitemata, Auckland and Counties Manukau District Health Boards. The report was authored by Dr Lavinia Perumal from the Auckland District Health Board.   

View the MELAA report online.

Ninety nine images were projected onto the shop window of the Wakefield Hotel clothing and footwear store, in what the artist describes as “a positive urban disruption celebrating the Diwali Festival of Light in Wellington”. The exhibition was funded by the Asia New Zealand Foundation.

Meena Kadri describes herself as a “mix-tape of sorts”.  She endeavors to navigate complexity and champion diversity with her projects. Currently she is exploring the intersection of communication, culture and creativity via her consultancy Random Specific. She has an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and a Masters in Design. She is involved in projects involving ethnography, cultural insights research, and writing and communications strategy with an additional focus on Design for Social Innovation. Meena currently lives and work in New Zealand, though continues to lecture and consult globally when possible.

View the India Illuminated Exhibition.

Thousands turned out in Victoria Square on a sunny afternoon, wedged in between aftershocks, to enjoy cultural performances, stalls and displays and a wide variety of Indian foods. Mayor Bob Parker, Indian High Commissioner Admiral Sureesh Mehta and Ethnic Affairs Minister Pansy Wong were given a traditional welcome with a grand “Thalappoli”, a procession of young women carrying lamps with beats of drums in the background, and “Thilak”, with sandalwood paste applied to the foreheads of the guests.

The festival featured wide range cultural performances by local groups, as well as the Rajisthani dance and music troupe and magician Uday Jadugar, who were brought to New Zealand to perform at the Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland festivals by the Asia New Zealand Foundation, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the Indian High Commission. The Indian Social and Cultural Club’s purpose is to foster a close network among Indians, South Asians and all those interested in India to enhance their experience in Christchurch through social, outreach, academic and career initiatives.

The Diwali Festival comes to Auckland this weekend.

The aim of the event was to observe Fiji Day, reach out to other communities and to make the Waikato Fiji Community more visible by celebrating Fiji’s culture and heritage. The event was attended by over 300 people with the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Tariana Turia, providing the keynote address on the theme of cultural diversity.   The Minister said ”To me, cultural diversity -the theme for your celebrations today – is something that we should absolutely cherish.  It is about holding to the very essence of who we are – protecting our uniqueness, celebrating our distinctive identities, valuing our traditions, our protocols, our stories, our ways. Today we celebrate the relationships between diverse peoples – but we also celebrate the expression of kotahitanga – the purpose that brings us all here tonight.”

The platform for the Waikato Fiji Association and the Fiji Waikato Community to work together was provided by Jenny Nand, Advisor, Local Government & Community Branch and Department of Internal Affairs – Te Tari Taiwhenua who assisted the two groups to sign a memorandum of understanding earlier in the year to agree on shared objectives.

The Canterbury Refugee Council’s aim is to positively influence outcomes for former refugee communities in Canterbury by providing a strong representative voice and by:

* Advocating on behalf of our communities;
* Facilitating research projects (needs and aspirations);
* Supporting community development;
* Providing an information and data brokerage service;
* Building effective relationships;
* Ensuring effective communication; and
* Enhancing cross cultural acknowledgment and awareness.

They are a constituent of the New Zealand National Refugee Network and recently hosted a forum on challenges facing refugee communities at the New Zealand Diversity Forum in Christchurch.

For more information visit their Facebook page.

The centre received early support from then City Councillor Cath Tizard. Voluntary legal services were provided by young Auckland lawyer Anand Satyanand. They both became Governors General and Peter Harwood became a Professor of Social Work, and they were all there (including Don Solomon with the original carved manaia) on 21 September at the Grey Lynn Community Centre to mark the 40^th anniversary of CABNZ and to launch a refreshed brand, a new Māori name, a new website and a national electronic database.

The launch of the database followed three years development and training of over 2000 CAB volunteers, and the website enables people to search for advice electronically as well as by contacting their local bureau. Microsoft New Zealand donated over $6 million worth of software licenses to the project, and Westpac New Zealand donated $600,000 worth of computer equipment.

Today, CABNZ operates in over 90 locations, and deals with over 600,000 enquiries a year.

Says Nelson Multicultural Council co-ordinator, Evey Mc Auliffe: “Educating our newcomers and visitors in regard to sustainable use of our natural resources is vital for building positive relationships with the locals”. “We voiced our concern to the Ministry of Fisheries, they listened and acted upon it, so they deserve recognition for this.” We agree.

You can view or download the fishing guidelines online.

An all day combination of food, dance, art, sports and games, as well as exhibits from participating organisations, the festival represented a unique cooperative venture between a very diverse group of organisations. It celebrated the vibrant cultures of South Canterbury through different “cultural houses” as well as performances, with tickets in the form of “passports” to “see the world on a shoestring”. The festival was opened by local MP Jo Goodhew who also sponsored 50 members of the Christchurch refugee community to attend.

Plans are to make the festival an annual event. It just goes to show how New Zealanders in rural and provincial communities are responding creatively and positively to the increased diversity of their communities to the benefit of all.

The Society was founded in 1960 for the promotion of understanding and goodwill between the people of Japan and New Zealand, the study of Japanese culture, the promotion of relationships and exchanges, extending hospitality to Japanese visitors and providing information for members and others proposing to visit Japan.

Today the society organizes a wide range of activities for its members, including Japanese language classes, conversation nights, social and sporting activities, the Haere Mai Taiko drummers group, a tea ceremony club and the annual Taste of Japan festival. Starting from small beginnings at much smaller venues in earlier years, this year’s festival attracted thousands of Aucklanders who enjoyed the cultural performances, art exhibition, tea ceremonies, sake tasting, sushi cooking, and hands-on workshops on origami, shodo, chigiri and kanji as well as a range of very popular Japanese food stalls.

For more information about the Society visit their website.

Every year the Kristin Prefects develop a project that will allow them to give back to the community. The students first held a “Trivia Night” fundraiser called “Around the World in 80 Questions”, raising $17,000 for the project.

The new garden includes plaques with the names of all the countries from which New Zealand’s refugees have come and the United Nations definition of refugees.

Says Head Boy Lewis Fry, in the latest newsletter from Refugee Services Aotearoa New Zealand, “”The Prefect Project completes a full circle. Excitement and hope of planning, give way to the stress and pressure of creating. Stress and pressure lead to a sense of achievement and fulfilment of finishing. But at the end, personal feelings matter little when you see that the precious commodity of your time and hard work transform into excitement and hope on the faces of those whose lives you made a difference in.”

As a result of their engagement with the Pacific Island community regarding ESOL needs, the “homework club” for Pacific Island children was born.

Concerns were raised that children are struggling to keep up with work while learning English due to limited resources. Ireen Manuel, a qualified teacher from the Pacific Island community volunteered her time to teach the children but there were no venue and even resources to help them.

New Coasters approached Cobden School and the result was a free use of classroom. Resources were also provided by New Coasters with the help of Take Note in Greymouth. Over 20 children attend the group at present.

As part of promoting their role they have been running a series of television advertisements on the theme of “humming along”. One of these, Chorus – Kids, promotes the rollout of fibre-optic cable to schools. It was launched in Māori Language Week and ran for several weeks in August. It begins with a powerful whakatauki in te reo Māori.

Aranui High School principal John Rohs commended the advertisement in a column reflecting on Māori Language Week in the Christchurch Press on September 16, noting that it was remarkable because the message is delivered first in te reo Māori, in the rich voice of Temuera Morrison, before its English rendition.

“What is clearly happening is a shift in the thinking of big business, which has the vision to grasp that te reo Maori is an integral part of our New Zealand identity. I’ve now watched this advertisement four or five times and am enjoying watching and hearing it, knowing it’s more than a special effort to acknowledge te reo Maori once a year. Well done to the communications team at Chorus!

“The more we can embrace bilingualism as a country, the greater our cultural richness, our potential for racial harmony and inclusiveness. This is what makes us distinctive as a nation and gives us all something that is uniquely ours, to be proud of. The Chorus advertisement is a wonderful example of an important message that deserves to be conveyed in te reo Maori and in English. Let’s hope other business leaders will follow suit.”

In September each year, Caritas organises Social Justice Week, during which Catholic schools and parishes focus on a current social issue. For this year’s Social Justice Week (from September 12-18) the theme was “creating inclusive and connected communities”, and church members were challenged to reflect on how welcoming and inclusive parish communities are.

Resources developed for the week included a “formation booklet” on the theme from the Catholic bishops, a Social Justice Series booklet on “Your People will be My People”, a poster, liturgical resources, children’s liturgy material, parish youth group material and newsletter notices. School resources were built around a CD-Rom for Years 1-13 called No longer strangers: recognising our cultural diversity.

Since then, the Trust’s reach has expanded nationally via a number of initiatives – each has a focus on empowering people to use ICT as a pathway to engage more fully in the communities. The programme works via low decile schools, to help families in greatest need to use the internet, email and basic computer skills in their everyday lives, to enhance their performance at school and at work.

‘Computers in Homes’ is an initiative of the 2020 Communications Trust with support from the Ministry of Education and Department of Internal Affairs. The Trust continually seeks to expand Computers in Homes to all communities where children do not have access to computers and the Internet in their homes.

Since the programme started in 2000 it has supported over 5,000 New Zealand families nationwide with refurbished computers, six months of free internet access, computer training and technical support via their local school. Newly arrived refugee families receive 12 months internet, interpreters, transport and family visitors in recognition of their need for extra support.

There are still an estimated 100,000 New Zealand families with school-aged children who do not have a computer and the Internet at home. In 2009 Computers in Homes launched the ’100,000 Challenge’ which aims to connect the remaining families without a computer in their homes and encourage digital literacy and competence.

“The announcement in the Government’s 2010 budget for 1000 families a year to 2013 has boosted our challenge by allowing us to reach a further 3000 New Zealand families. We applaud the Government for this funding so we can support communities in need to improve their digital literacy and raise their aspirations,” says Di Das, National Coordinator CIH, “New areas we can now expand into are Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Opotiki, Ruapehu/King Country and Wairarapa. Our team is eager to begin the rollout immediately.”

Classes made flags for each of the ten countries that marked the route. They were also encouraged to wear their national dress, and there were kids dressed in costumes from Thailand, Korea, China, Pakistan and Wales.

When the school reopened after the quake, the celebration of cultural diversity continued with the previously planned promotion of an International Language Week from 13-17 September that culminated in a school assembly at which students performed songs and dances of their country.

The report was also covered in a two page feature on race relations in the Dominion Post Weekender on 25 September. The website has a link to the report and to videos of speakers at the forum, and invites public discussion on the issues. New material will continue to be added, and people can subscribe to email updates from the site. The pages are hosted by www.issues.co.nz , which is a new website dedicated to the promotion of issues campaigns of any type; social, political, environmental, agricultural, and business.

Currently, 70 locally made programmes are on air, where people share ideas, disseminate information and express opinions, in their own language. Diversity is expressed in 15 different languages, from the arts to local body politics, the environment to specialist music shows, pipe bands to Muslim youth.

Listeners can access programmes online through podcasts and a live stream.

Part-funded by NZ On Air, Plains FM is a non-commercial broadcaster that offers an alternative to commercial mainstream media.

Current ministries include Mercy Hospice Auckland and Mercy Hospital Dunedin, three residential aged care facilities, several projects offering supported accommodation and outreach to older people, five secondary colleges for girls, two spirituality and retreat centres, and a range of community development and social service initiatives.

The Ministries’ projects this year have included a series of talks aimed at deepening interfaith understanding, with a focus on Hindu, Muslim and Jewish perspectives, as well as Anglican-Catholic dialogue. Carmel College marked the beginning of Mātāriki, with a lunchtime celebration led by the school’s four tuakana leaders. At St Mary’s College a kapa haka group led an event to mark the start of Te Wiki o Te Reo. Around 60 new staff at Mercy Hospice Auckland are participating in three Treaty workshops, highlighting the commitment of the Sisters of Mercy to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The Māori community of Nelson identified a need for a culturally appropriate marae to practice tikanga and cultural values in an appropriate manner. This emphasised the need for a place to learn tikanga Māori and marae protocol.

Whakatu Marae and Founders Heritage Park Nelson celebrated Waitangi Day Kai Festival in 2010 with whanau from around the world by advertising a kai festival with 78 food stalls. Kai is a way of not only cementing relationships; it is also something the entire world has in common. More than 6000 people attended the festival, to taste and share kai from traditional and contemporary New Zealand and exotic delicacies from other parts of the worlds.

In 2009, Pacific Underground organised the Christchurch segment of the “I Love the Islands” concerts for tsunami stricken Samoa. Up until this year, the company hosted an annual Christchurch Pacific Arts Festivals to showcase established and emerging Pacific artists from all over the Pacific, New Zealand and Christchurch.

Pacific Underground shares original stories of Pacific people living in Aotearoa, through theatre, concerts and events. It has been the training ground for some of New Zealand’s most well known entertainers, such as Oscar Kightley, David Fane and The Naked Samoans, Scribe, Dallas Tamaira of Fat Freddy’s Drop, Ladi 6 and Parks, and Antsman of Rhombus.

This year, Progressive Enterprises hosted the Auckland launch of Māori Language Week 2010. The theme Te Mahi Kai – the Language of Food, aligns with Progressive’s business and proved to be a great opportunity for the teams to celebrate Māori Language Week in their stores.

Progressive Enterprises is working closely with the Māori Language Commission to embed this initiative into the company’s regular programme of activity, to celebrate Māori language now and in the future.

For more than 40 generations, Ngāi Tahu has understood the importance of diversity, forging strong inter-iwi alliances, arranging peace marriages and strategic marriages with Pākehā whalers and settlers of all nationalities. More than 10 years on from settlement of the Ngāi Tahu Claim, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu is committed to creating opportunities to enhance the inter-generational well-being of Ngāi Tahu Whānui and grow Ngāi Tahu communities. As an employer, its policies affirm the importance of diversity, seeking to place the best person in the job.

Manaakitanga is a value that sits at the core of Ngāi Tahu culture. It means valuing and welcoming all, and where necessary speaking up for and supporting minority groups. An acceptance of diversity means all the skills and creativity within a community can be freely expressed. Diversity creates rich communities, provides new skills, new ways of thinking and understanding.

For the past 10 years, in partnership with Government, the Chamber has assisted employers find employees with the skills they need and helped job seekers find employment.

The Chamber works with at-risk minority groups, including migrants, refugees, single parents, the recently unemployed and young people in South Auckland. Over the past year, the Chamber has worked with over 1100 individuals and a further 800 through partnership workshops.

The Chamber’s programmes include: New Kiwis website, Migrant Work Experience Programme, Kiwi Career Success, Return 2 Work Programme, Cadetmax and Jobs Plus.

These initiatives enable the Chamber to tap into both the conventional and hidden job markets to link minority and disadvantaged groups to opportunities they might not have had.

The college’s refugee programmes have been a focus over the past five years, with more than 230 students from countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Iraq, Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia. This brings everyday challenges but also a richness of culture, religion, language and experience that teaches the importance of respect, innovation and diversity across all types of education.

A further 300+ extended family members access the multi-ethnic Study Centre for study assistance and programmes focusing on skills useful for a successful resettlement to Aotearoa.

Over the years, the Trust has grown to deliver programs that enhance the well-being of individuals and communities and encourage independence. These programs include a community centre, health and well-being, Interpreting Service, Settlement Support, Computers in Homes, Migrant Internship, Get Reel Movies and Radio, and Stepping Up to Study.

HMST collaborates with other organisations to run the NZ Ethnic Soccer Festival, Homeworx Program, Emergent Art, Low Cost Living Expo, and other settlement and employment support groups and forum.

The Council promotes and celebrates cultural diversity in the community, assists with settlement issues and social contacts, and organises educational forums to assist migrants settle in New Zealand.

This year, the Council held their first Multicultural Food Festival on Race Relations Day, in March, attended by more than 1500 people. The festival had a huge impact in helping the ethnic community feel welcome in the city. The Council also participated in the ILT Kidzone six- day holiday programme in July, with a roster of 21 volunteers of various nationalities helping out with activities from different cultures which Multi-Nations organised.

The Council regularly holds a monthly potluck dinner to welcome migrants and releases a monthly newsletter to around 600 individuals and organisations.

The Auckland Regional Public Health Service provides a range of services, including a screening and medical clinic at the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre, and providing health promotion programmes to refugee communities.

The Auckland Regional Public Health Service uses a Strengths Based Approach. This focuses on actions that empower diverse communities, such as refugees, Māori and Asian, to take community ownership and develop capacity to create sustainable projects.

The Auckland Regional Public Health Service is committed to working with the community and agency partners to improve well-being, promote positive health and prevent illness.

The Libraries provide orientation and training for migrants, refugees and ESOL groups, including an opportunity to explore the library website for those new to the internet.

The community information database (CINCH) has contact details for 169 ethnic organisations and 51 ESOL providers.

The library continues to address the uptake of library services by diverse communities via marketing, outreach, programming, hosting and attending events. Staff members develop and maintain relationships with the settlement sector, promoting library services, collecting feedback and stimulating the development of new services.

Language Link provides free and confidential information and advice, interpreting support and advocacy for migrants and refugees in 26 languages. Information and advocacy is provided on a range of settlement needs, including immigration, employment, housing, income support, education and training, health, family issues and counselling.

The free and confidential interpreting service is open to all community organisations. The conference call system allows bureau staff to act as advisers, interpreters and to provide information to clients and callers.

“This publication contributes to a new dawn of understanding of the requirements for working with Pacific peoples, families, and communities. This understanding will ensure there is high-quality health care leading to improved health outcomes and reduced inequalities for Pacific peoples,” Dr Debbie Ryan states in the forward.

With the Pacific population in NZ expected to grow from the current seven percent to just over 12 percent by 2051, specific action to address the cultural competence of health systems and the health workforce is critical.

The report addresses key cultural concepts important to Pacific peoples, including family and community and holistic health and spirituality, that impact on Pacific peoples interactions with the NZ healthcare system.

Based on these key concepts the report provides specific guidance on Pacific preferences in relation to areas such as initial contact, examining patients, body language and consent. It also provides advice on a number of special issues, including maternal and child health, addiction and sexual health.

You can download the report online.

The three-week festival will include a Hong Kong Photo Exhibition at the Rialto Shopping Centre, an exciting line-up of eight films at the Hong Kong Film Festival and will conclude with a banquet dinner.

The festival will celebrate the strong relationship between NZ and Hong Kong culture and business, and encourage the local community to find out more about this fascinating city, which seamlessly blends the traditional and contemporary.

Find out more about the Hong Kong Festival online.

Twelve student organisations put on a performance, ranging from African dance to Korean Pop, and even “A Bruneian Love Story”. Produced by Art Kojarunchitt, International Representative of the OUSA Executive, the acts were contemporary and often humorous, ensuring a good time was had by all. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Otago Community Hospice.

A celebrity cook-off that saw Minister of Māori Affairs, Pita Sharples, declared the ultimate “Māori chef” was held in Midland Park and a lunchtime concert, featuring Ria Hall and Ngāti Pōneke Māori Club Juniors, was also held.

This weekend, the Harbourside and City markets will feature music and entertainment in te reo and New Zealand chef and author Anne Thorp will present a free cooking demonstration at Pipitea Marae.

Anne said te mahi kai means everything to do with food, “It’s the whole thing – from the very thought that you are hungry, to the gathering, the preparation, the cooking and the eating of the kai.

“For me Māori Language Week is about tackling te reo in innovative ways and encouraging the use of small and simple phrases or words and place names for people who regularly don’t, or never, speak te reo so they can take part with confidence and enjoyment.”

Find out more about Wellington Māori Language Week events online.

The forum will run from 22-23 August and will be held at the Christchurch Convention Centre. The awards will be presented at a special ceremony on Monday 23 August at 6.00pm.

The theme of the forum this year is “It’s About Us”, carried forward from Race Relations Day 2010, and you can find more information on the HRC website. There is no charge for weekend workshops or single forums; however attendance on Monday 23 August is $50 for the day. Register NOW.

The corporation’s Countdown, Woolworths and Foodtown mailers were themed for Māori Language Week 2010, with Māori translations of recipes, measurements and shopping lists. Close to 1.4 million were distributed nationally.

Progressive Enterprises also incorporated the “Te Mahi Kai” logo on in-store posters, stickers and signs that displayed the words for everyday food items, and their Māori translation.

A few years ago the Commission recognised a single grocery store in Tokomaru Bay for its use of te reo Māori. Today, it’s great to be recognising such a large corporation with multiple chains of supermarkets throughout New Zealand.

Every year there is at least one standout contribution to Māori Language Week; a programme or project that promotes the use of te reo to the wider New Zealand public in a new way and takes us one step closer to becoming a truly bilingual society. This year Progressive Enterprises has helped us move nearer to that goal.

Events included performances by three school Kapa Haka groups at Mosgiel Library and a recital by the Dunedin City Council Waiata Group at the City Library.

The City Library is currently hosting “Toi te Kupu: Te Reo Māori in Print”, the first exhibition of its kind in Dunedin. Examples of te reo Māori literature from the library’s Heritage Collection are on display, illustrating the journey of te reo Māori over the past 200 years. Sitting alongside dictionaries and religious texts are Māori translations of classic and beloved tales, including Robinson Crusoe and The Merchant of Venice. The exhibition is on display until 17 October 2010.

That is why she set up a bilingual window display and bilingual signs in the pharmacy she owns with her husband in Wanganui, an initiative that will continue year-round, long after the close of Māori Language Week.

“I saw a people that was struggling to have their culture and language survive in a Pakeha-dominated country,” Louise said. “I thought, why don’t we have Māori signs? Māori is an official language of New Zealand, and it’s hardly used anywhere in signage.”

Louise studies te reo Māori for free through Te Wananga o Aotearoa and has also been to Te Atarangi marae stays, where nothing but Māori was spoken for several days and where she was the only Pakeha.

“It makes you accept and appreciate how Māori are. If more Pakeha had knowledge of Māori language, we would live in a more racially harmonised society,” Louise said.

These resources were essential, as policies for Asian and refugee communities are underdeveloped in comparison to other communities in New Zealand.

Visit Te Pou’s website for more information or read the fact sheets here:

• Fact Sheet 1: Why Deliver Responsive Services?
• Fact Sheet 2: Planning and Funding – Where to Start?
• Fact Sheet 3: The Evidence Base
• Fact Sheet 4: Resources

“Demographics of New Zealand’s Pacific Population” examines elements such as population growth, birthplace, labour force composition and geographical distribution. It also examines identity, showing that younger Pacific people are more likely to have multiple ethnicities.

The electronic resource replaces the Annual Aggregate Report and will be updated after each census; progress will be tracked in intervening years by the Ministry of Social Development’s Social Report.

You can download “Demographics of New Zealand’s Pacific Population” online.

The exhibition will showcase 90 paintings, precious icons, crucifixes and religious artifacts. The classical concert will be conducted by Mikhail Tablist, a concert pianist, accompanied by acclaimd soprano, Ms Joanna Heslop.

The celebrations will be held at the Wel Energy Trust Academy of Performing Arts Centre, at the University of Waikato. Contact Noeline (Ph: 07 827 5984) for more information and tickets.

Resources prepared by Caritas Aotearoa NZ for parishes and schools will encourage each community to reflect on their own identity, respond to their increasing cultural diversity and recognise issues such as discrimination, prejudice and stereotyping when they arise.

A new formation booklet, Creating Inclusive and Connected Communities, has been designed to support the work of parish pastoral councils. It asks them to identify any barriers that might prevent some cultural groups from participating in their community and reflects the bishops’ desire for parishes to welcome migrants into all aspects of Church life.

“It is our hope that parishes will remain unified while celebrating the richness of this diversity,” the Catholic bishops say. “We wish to equip parish councils to respond to different groups in their parishes and to consider how they could change or improve their current responses to the cultural diversity in our midst.”

Entertainment included indigenous games; food stalls; music, dance and cultural items; and an item performed by the Embassy’s own staff. Ivy Padilla, who recently performed in the musical Miss Saigon, sang at the event, and Filinartizts Wellington organised the indigenous games.

The group has posted a video on Youtube.

Farah Omar, from Somalia; Maureen Zala, from Iraq; Thony Trann, from Cambodia; Mang Za, from the UK; Hram Kung, from Burma; and Margaret Pompeo, from Sudan, collaborated with Voices Arts Trust and a skilled arts-facilitator to develop “A Thousand Strangers.” The broadcasts were timed to coincide with World Refugee Day, 20 June.

With access to Radio New Zealand National’s post-production facilities the young people worked primarily as individuals, but also in group workshops, to produce their diverse stories “exploring themes of loss, separation, re-birth, true love and misunderstanding”, intending to “facilitate new forms of self-expression and support the creative process.”

You can listen to the stories through podcast on Radio New Zealand National’s website.

Christine played a major role in creating and maintaining the highly successful Samoan Language Week Facebook page, which attracted a following of nearly 2,800 people. Christine also arranged video ‘shout outs’ on Youtube from a number of celebrities including Reuben Wiki, Pippa Wetzell and Nigel Vagana.

At the same time, Christine worked in her personal capacity on communications for Youth Week and on a Facebook page entitled ‘Tell My Moko’. The page asked, “if you could, what would you say to your mokopuna in 50 years time?” Christine also worked on media communications for Samoan Language Week and the Samoan Language Week Champions.

The commemorative booklet was also an acknowledgement of individual and community efforts in resettling refugees. The publication includes a visual guide of the countries of origin for the 23,030 refugees arriving in Aotearoa between 1979 and 2010. It presents the experiences of a selection of refugees at the Mangere Centre, and how the centre has impacted on their resettlement.

‘First Steps to a New Future’ was launched at the Mangere Centre on 20 June, World Refugee Day, and was accompanied by a kauri planting ceremony.

A number of organisations collaborated to support and present E.mer.gent, including Agora Café, the Hamilton Arts Council, Hamilton City Council, Hamilton Multicultural Sevices Trust, Incedo, Refugee Services Aotearoa New Zealand and the Waikato Refugee Forum. Young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds attended the workshops and around 65 artists created over 100 pieces for inclusion in the E.mer.gent exhibition.

The workshops and creative process were also a way of sharing the young people’s stories, cultural roots and emotions. Proceeds from the works sold were returned to the young artists, who came from a range of communities. Some schools also participated.

As well as acknowledging the creative talent of the artists, the workshops and exhibition were a way of bringing together families and communities with a special opening on 14 June, for the artists and their families. E.mer.gent was such a success that participants are already asking when the next workshops will be.

Ngāti Wai has been running outdoor wilderness programmes for at-risk young people for more than 20 years, where youth are able to learn about mana whenua and tikanga.

The latest workshops were also an opportunity for refugee background young people to share their own cultural heritage with each other, and with young people of Ngāti Wai. The programmes included abseiling, rock climbing, kayaking, orienteering, and safety, survival and bush skills.

Those who completed the course will become participants in the ‘Refugee Youth Action Network’ in Auckland and Hamilton.

The kit consists of a wall chart and matching Velcro flash-cards (designed by one of the team members) and was developed after consultation with several local primary school teachers showed that there was a “real need” for an affordable learning resource. EduKit was developed by EduKid NZ, which is comprised of six Tauranga Girls’ College students. Last week, the group beat some tough competition to win the Young Enterprise Scheme regional business plan and oral presentation competition.

The EduKit has been well-received by local primary school and the EduKid team is preparing to launch the product at Tauranga Chamber of Commerce meeting on 7 July. Kits will be available online.

Mātāriki, which translates as ‘the tiny eyes’, or ‘the eyes of the gods’, is the name for the seven stars visible over the month of June and signals the start of the Māori New Year.

Te Taura Whiri’s booklet, published in te reo and English, provides information on the stars, the timing and significance of Mātāriki, and the importance of the rising of Mātāriki in the ancient world. The publication also includes a Māori lunar calendar and a collection of Māori proverbs.

You can download the booklet and find out more about Mātāriki on the Te Kōrero Māori website.

The exhibition serves up Auckland in four courses: it explores traditional harvesting of food from land and sea; shows the great banquets of Auckland’s past; showcases objects from New Zealand’s culinary culture; and investigates the future of our food.

The Kai to Pie exhibition is accompanied by a wide range of activities and events including lectures, family events, cooking demonstrations and tasting sessions. Every Saturday, the Museum will showcase one of the many ethnic groups that call Auckland home. On these days there will be cooking demonstrations, cultural performances and the opportunity to taste some cultural specialities.

For more information, visit Auckland Museum’s website.

Before the week began, the Samoan parents put together a resource pack for the teachers at the school, allowing the teachers to go into Samoan Language Week fully prepared and with confidence.

The school celebrated Samoan Language Week in several different ways. Each day the kids were introduced to a new Samoan word or phrase and encouraged to use the language in everyday conversation. Samoan words (including days of the week and months of the year) and numbers were integrated into lessons and used throughout the classrooms.

The school organised lunchtime activities, including an interactive story-telling activity and a Samoan games session. The teachers also got involved and took lessons in Samoan Siva dancing. An inter-class lavalava design competition was held, allowing the kids to get creative with Samoan-inspired patterns and colours. The competition was judged by Leafa Wilson, curator of the Waikato Museum and Samoan artist, in conjunction with Woodstock’s Principal, Steve Ostermann. Prizes for the competition were awarded during Friday’s Fiafia assembly, where the Woodstock’s Samoan cultural group also delivered a fantastic performance. The school won the Air New Zealand prize for the best Samoan Language Week activity.

Check out the photos of Woodstock’s celebrations.

A number of other schools and organisation presented a range of innovative and highly interactive programmes to celebrate the week. In addition to Woodstock Primary School, some of the outstanding efforts included Matipo Primary School, whose students created an exhibition of tapa and conducted their school assembly in Samoan and English, and Ponsonby Primary School, which had a chopsuey feast and a whole school sasa event.

Celebrations extended to Deception Bay in Australia, and Osaka in Japan. All of the events are documented on the Human Rights Commission’s website and on the dedicated Samoan Language Week Facebook page. Special mention must be made of Mangere East Primary School, which celebrated Samoan Language Week, but sadly lost seven classrooms including the whole of the junior syndicate and part of the Samoan bilingual unit in a fire the following week. The school reopened soon after but will need major reconstruction.

“The aim of our project was to track the resettlement process from the refugees’ home country to give Kiwis a better understanding of the background of people moving in to their communities.

We wanted to illustrate – through pictures and words – the lives that these people were leaving behind and the huge amount of hope they have for their futures.”

The pair headed to different refugee camps each day in search of the families they hoped to follow in their move to New Zealand. Most of the families knew little or nothing about New Zealand and consequently had few expectations about what life would be like here. What Rebecca and Kirk did come away with was “a great sense of how devoid of hope these people had been feeling and their immense happiness at being offered the opportunity for a new life.”

Rebecca and Kirk met with the families again in Auckland and gained an insight into how New Zealand supports its newest residents in their transition. They plan to follow three families over the coming months and years to see how they settle in, what study or job options they take up and how they integrate into New Zealand society.

More about the project can be read online. Rebecca and Kirk recently caught up with the Magan family, now living in Christchurch.

This followed the publication last year of Michael Mulholland’s history of Māori rugby, Beneath the Māori Moon (now made into a Māori Television documentary) and Māori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples’ renewed call for an apology at the launch of the centenary of Māori Rugby earlier this year. The Sunday News spearheaded what became a widespread media campaign to achieve an apology, with editorial comment, news coverage and columns from their regular writers such as former All Black captain Taine Randell and radio talkback host John Tamihere. The knockout blow was dealt by reporter David Long, who obtained a letter from South African Sports and Recreation Minister Makhenkesi Stofile which called for apologies from both the South African and New Zealand unions. The South African union then made its own apology, followed finally by the New Zealand Rugby Union. The Sunday News is acknowledged, along with other media, for applying the pressure to achieve this outcome.

The Regent on Broadway was filled to capacity for the event, which included 35 different performances from a wide range of local cultural groups. There were groups from various parts of Asia, Eastern and Western Europe, Latin Amercia and the Pacific, led off by waiata from the students of Turakina Girls College. What set this concert apart was the sheer professionalism of the direction and the way the community groups rose to the challenge of performing in a professional setting.

Official guests were welcomed via the PA system and groups just flowed on and off the stage without introduction. The concert was preceded by a fundraising dinner hosted by the Multicultural Council at the China Town restaurant, attended by over 200 people. Congratulations to the director, the performers, the multicultural council and all who attended on a great evening showcase of Palmerston North’s diversity and creativity.

The trip was a first for Botany Downs Secondary College students, and the kaupapa of the weekend was to give the Blake and Discovery whānau cultural committee students a deeper understanding of whānau and Whānaungatanga. Nineteen students from diverse communities and backgrounds attended, including Māori, Mexican, South African, Persian, Asian and Polynesian students.

A warm invitation was extended to staff, families and international students to attend the 10am pōwhiri, and to the hangi Edgewater College students prepared for dinner. There was a varied programme over the weekend, with Edgewater College students welcoming, hosting and sharing their marae culture with Botany Downs Secondary College students. Members of host students’ whānau shared their knowledge of tikanga, whānau, poi, mau rakau, kapahaka, raranga, and hangi, and supported students to make the weekend a success. Kapahaka tutors, Koro Percy and Whaea Lola, facilitated the pōwhiri, poroporoaki, and workshops on Whānaungatanga, marae history and protocol.

Feedback indicated that Botany Downs Secondary College students went away with a much deeper understanding of the culture, of whānau, of songs in te reo, and about supporting each other as a whānau.

The initiative involved cross-sectoral collaboration between NGOs, government agencies, local authorities, marae, schools, whānau and rangatahi to “encourage and foster young Māori leaders as catalysts to positively influence behaviour within their whānau and communities.”

A project coordinator worked with four secondary schools from the Hutt region; Upper Hutt, Heretaunga, Taita and Wainuiomata Colleges. Each school nominated eight students who showed leadership qualities and were willing to become violence free in their homes, schools and communities. These rangatahi then engaged with the community in discussions about family violence, typically a very sensitive and difficult process.

Kapa haka expert, Mihaere Kirby, explains that exposure to the performing arts was both a means to deliver key messages about violence and a process of healing for students and whānau who had experienced violence: “Waiata and kapa haka… serenade the young to stand up and be leaders.” The students performed at events in the Hutt and Wellington region, as well as in Auckland, Nelson, Hawkes Bay and Whanganui.

The programme had three facets: personal development of students; community presentations and performances, at events such as White Ribbon Day; and alignment with the social marketing strategy ‘Bouncy Bully’, developed by Heretaunga College and part of the Young Enterprise Scheme. The ‘Bounce Bully’ scheme involved the creation of a ‘company’ to address and reduce bullying with the understanding that “It is not enough to tell bullies that they should stop their violent behaviour. We believe that we need to create an environment where bullying is not accepted and that it is cool to be violence free” (Bouncy Bully Action Plan).

One Taiohi Morehu participant said “After becoming involved in Taiohi Morehu and hearing stories during our wānanga I realised the way I was treating my brothers was unacceptable and could have resulted in consequences hard to repair in the future.”

Due to its success, other students are now asking for a similar programme to be made available to them. Read last week’s TVNZ mention of the group.

The day’s celebrations will begin with the Fourth Annual World Refugee Football Match, followed by a cultural fair and a tree planting event. As in previous years, the match is expected to attract both refugee background and local communities from the Hutt Valley, Porirua and Wellington. The first match will be between Refugee All-Star players from Africa and Asia, and the second will see players from another Refugee All-Star team challenge a Wellington Invitational Eleven.

A cultural fair with music, dance and food cooked by different refugee communities at Newtown Park club rooms will follow the football matches. Refugee background communities will then be able to plant a tree to ‘put down roots’ at Mt Albert Park, in a Rotary Club of Wellington and Project Crimson initiative.

Set by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the 2010 theme for World Refugee Day is ‘Home’. The Commission has established a webpage to publicise events around the country- if you are planning one email us and we will add it to the page.

Four visits are organised annually, and provide an exciting opportunity for newcomers to learn about tikanga Māori, including the pōwhiri and hongi. Manuhiri hear the history of Ngāti Whātua and of Ōrākei Marae, and experience an interactive programme. Visitors are able to try out the haka, flax weaving and enjoy a traditional hangi lunch. Feedback from the visits has been very positive, with comments that people found the new information to be very useful, and the experience fun. The learning process is two-way, with Ngāti Whātua also finding out more about new migrants and their diverse cultures. The visits are in high demand and combine well with Settlement Support’s Treaty Education workshops.

Check out Settlement Support Auckland’s Facebook page for pictures.

Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres and Commissioner Karen Johansen spoke on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Much of the discussion centred on the Declaration, and how to best realise its intent. Some 80 people attended the hui, representing a wide range of community members, local school students, iwi, hapu, whānau and community groups.

Tairawhiti Community Law Centre is a member of the Tairawhiti Eastern Bay Human Rights Network. The network was developed from the Taku Manawa My Human Rights pilot project and is a group of community organisations and individuals that work together to identify and address human rights issues in the region. The Tairawhiti region network is coordinated by Murray Henare and the Eastern Bay region by Tracy Hillier.

Based at Maraeroa School and Kindergarten in Cannons Creek, Porirua, each playgroup will have its own space and come together for shared play and meal times with a view to both promoting cultural diversity and encouraging shared learning and appreciation of different Pacific languages and cultures.

Toru Fetū is a combination of the three languages and means ‘three stars’, representing the Niue, Cook Island and Tuvalu groups and symbolising “Pacific people’s use of the stars to navigate and explore the vast oceans… The light of Toru Fetū Kindergarten is our children.”

In future it is hoped that the centre will also house support services such as antenatal and parenting courses, cultural resources, and health information. Toru Fetū Kindergarten will be opened by Hon Anne Tolley, Minister of Education, on 3 June.

The newspapers are aimed at different age groups and curriculum areas, and include Go-Zone Junior, Years 1-2; Go Zone, Years 3-4; I site, Years 5-6; News:links, Years 7-8; and Zoned in, Years 9-10.

This year the following topics are explored:

• I site: Mātāriki Week (published 1 June)
• News:link: ‘ngā toi me ngā hakinakina’- Māori arts and recreation (published 8 June)
• Go Zone: te wā’- the time (published 15 June)
• Zoned In: ‘Kaitiakitanga o ngā wai māori’- preservation of fresh water (published 22 June).
• A resource on ‘Te Marae’ and a poster on ‘He kōrero mō te kai’ are also available.

Mātāriki falls on 14 June this year, although it is celebrated by different iwi at different times. Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, Māori Language Week is set to be celebrated from 26 July-1 August, with the theme ‘Te Mahi Kai- the Language of Food’. To place an order or find out more about the mini-newspapers, email Fairfax NIE.

The group utilises the arts to assist new Filipino migrants with the settling in process. It is based in Wellington and was initiated by a group of young and aspiring artists, with guidance from the Cultural Officer from the Philippine Embassy. The group, also known as FILINARTIZTS, promotes visual arts, dance, music, martial arts, literary arts and performing arts, for “…young and old, new migrants and older migrants… to share and experience a truly vibrant Filipino arts and culture.” FILINARTIZTS has already performed at a number of events, including the ASEAN Night Market, Race Relations Day in Johnsonville, Filipino Fiesta Sa Wellington, and the Philippine Independence Day celebration, as well as the South East Asian Cultural evening in Lower Hutt this past month. Upcoming events include a radio programme with Wellington Access Radio and a Death Rituals project in conjunction with the Office of Ethnic Affairs and Wellington Museum of the Sea.

FILINARTIZTS will be showcasing the Filipino indigenous games and the ati-atihan (street dancing and drumbeats) at the Philippine Independence Day celebration this Sunday, 6 June, 11:30am-2pm, at Lower Hutt’s Horticultural Centre. A cultural programme will follow from 2-5pm.

The morning workshops are held at Waiwhetu Marae and are part of the Wellington Regional Settlement Strategy. Teri Puketapu and Moana Jackson presented at the latest workshop, where visitors learnt about pōwhiri, local history, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Māori language and tikanga, and caring for the environment. The workshops have proved to be very popular and have been attended by newcomers from a range of countries. As one attendee said: “New Zealand is our new home, and it is very important to become aware of the Māori culture. So today’s visit is an important learning experience for us. For most of us, this is the first visit to a marae.”

Contact Vesna West to find out more about the next workshop on 17 June (04 570 6786).

Twenty five young people, aged between 13 and 28 from different regions and cultures, attended the forum held in Porirua from 16- 18 April. The young people received editorial feedback on their draft resource kit for young migrants and took part in a range of leadership development activities. NZFMC Youth President said “This is just the beginning of a journey that is going to take New Zealand to new and great horizons.”

The Summit is packed with events, exhibitions and performances, and as Ema Tavola, Pacific Arts Coordinator of Manukau Arts, says “Practiced, appreciated and celebrated everyday in churches and schools, at home, through language and ritual, our arts are an inextricable link to our ancestors.”

The month kicks off with the Creative Careers Youth Expo, giving Pacific youth insight into successful careers in the arts. Next up is ‘Lunchtime Poetry Slam Feat’, with Charlie Dark (from the British Council’s People in Your Neighbourhood project), in collaboration with Pacific poets from Otara. Throughout the month there will be a Creative New Zealand heritage arts fono/ hui; an Otara Niu Mural; and a Pacific Sound Stage. A ‘Curating Pacific Art Forum’ is set to bring together curators, academics, artists and cultural commentators for dialogue on Pacific visual arts. An Artists Floor Talk on ‘Tongan Style’ will highlight the art and practice of embroidery and crocheting in Tonga and Tefisi clothing.

The key dates and events are:

• 1 May – Creative Careers Youth Expo
• 4 May – Lunchtime Poetry Slam
• 7 May – Creative New Zealand Heritage Arts Fono
• 8 May – Tongan Style Artists’ Floor Talk
• 15 May – Fresh Gallery Otara Niu Mural
• 21 May – Curating Pacific Art Forum
• 22 May – Pacific Sound Stage
• 29 May – Blood’s Thicker Than Mud Artists’ Floor Talk.

Visit the Pacific Arts Summit pages on Manukau City Council’s website for more information.

Taz Mukorombindo, Canterbury Business Association and programme coordinator, explains that isolation and lack of existing networks are often key barriers for migrants to finding work. The programme aims to remove these barriers, and includes assistance in gaining industry experience and creating CVs. The scheme was launched at the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology by Human Rights Commissioner Richard Tankersley and MP Nicky Wagner. The Canterbury Business Association works to support migrants and refugees to find employment, and in addition to the mentoring programme runs network meetings and multicultural events. To find out more visit their website or email the mentoring programme.

The series, which began last July, provides a casual, safe environment for people to learn about different countries. Each month a guest ‘neighbour’ from a focus country is featured. They share information about their country, culture, customs, and teach participants a few words in their mother tongue. The focus countries have included Iran, Korea, Macedonia, Russia, South Africa and Tonga. Community members are encouraged to pop in, bring along their lunch, have cup of tea, and learn something new. The next session, about the Philippines, will be on 27 May. You can register or find out more by contacting Settlement Support North Shore (486 8635).

Held on King Tuheitia’s birthday, the celebration included seminars, panel discussions, wananga, sporting and cultural events, and a concert hosted by the king. Of particular significance was the premiere of Ahukaramu Charles Royal’s orchestral piece ‘Te Arikinui’, dedicated to the late Māori queen, Te Atairangikaahu. The words were written by Timoti Karetu of Ngae Tuhoe- the piece was performed by Howard McGuire of Ngati Kahungungu. The university has a strong relationship with Tainui, and one in every five students studying at the university is Māori.

This step completes Phase 2 of a five phase plan. In line with Ministry of Health requirements and in response to an increasingly diverse population, CALD courses teach health practitioners how to provide services that “acknowledge the diversity of cultures and ensure services are accessible, culturally appropriate, effective and safe.”

The new website also hosts links, news, a forum and electronic toolkits, and is intended to grow. They have also developed a 24-7 Waitemata Auckland Translation and Interpreting Service (WATIS) for primary and secondary care services and a range of Asian culture-specific services for the DHB. Visit CALD’s new website.

The project was launched at Wesley Community Centre on 24 April. The conference involved discussion on a range of issues important to young people, such as education and community development, and the relationship between these factors and sport. The group received a $4000 grant from Fifa, the international football federation.

Yonas, who is leading the project, explains that the tournament aims to build relationships as well as sporting abilities. The four young men will scout for young talent in their neighbourhoods, with a focus on 14- 25 year olds from migrant and refugee communities. They hope that the project will improve access to opportunities for the target group: “They are in totally different countries and their parents don’t have much support either. These new communities need support.” To find out more contact Yonas.

The launch on 14 April was attended by 400 people and opened with a lion dance, a tribute to Bruce Lee, Chinese Martial Arts legend. Speakers included real estate entrepreneur, Don Ha; and Skykiwi Public Relations Manager, Ariel Zhang. Raymond Kwok, of Future Dragonz explains “We want to create an environment for young Chinese from early settler, recent migrant and international student communities to network and learn from each other… to lead New Zealand Chinese into the future.

Future Dragonz will hold a series of events throughout the year, aimed at facilitating both social and professional growth of its members. Find out more on the Future Dragonz website.

The day celebrated cultural diversity, and aimed to raise awareness of Vaisakhi cultural celebrations, which are held to mark the start of spring and the end of harvest. Vaisakhi is particularly significant for the Sikh community and is widely celebrated in the state of Punjab. A range of entertainment was featured, including Indian cultural and Bollywood dances, music, and activities for children.

Christine Murthi’s group ‘Dreams on Fire’ won the Youth Indian Dance Competition after the ‘dance off’ between schools from all over Auckland. The celebration extended to local libraries, with Botany, Manukau City Centre Mangere, Manurewa, Pakuranga, and Papatoetoe branches hosting student presentations and performances on Indian festival, and the harvesting season celebrations. The AIEC Trust works to promote “educational, community and awareness activities”, bringing both Indian and wider communities together.

They were co-facilitated by Brigid Ryan and Anne McKenzie. They are a response to the changing demographics of the two regions, to “take stock of emerging issues, to coordinate services and to plan for the ongoing needs of the expanding local migrant communities”. The aim is to identify needs, gaps in services and suggestions for further action. The research is based on consultation with local and central government, non-government organisations, focus groups of local migrants, and census data.

The Tauranga City and Western Bay of Plenty report identifies a number of key priority areas: facilitating access to services; improving support to families and children; improving appreciation of diversity; encouraging healthy lifestyles; safety and security; knowledge and skills; economic well-being; positive ageing; and vibrant and optimistic youth. Priority actions identified in the Albany report are: developing a Programme of Action; working with the Multi-Agency Strategic Team; working on a strategy for a central community space/ hub; producing local resources in Chinese and Korean languages; establishing an Albany ‘Newcomers Network’; pursuing a strategy to link Albany migrants with available services; promoting an established social English group; and investigating Pacific peoples views.

Both reports were launched with pōwhiri and performances by local Kapa Haka groups and entertainment from local ethnic groups. The Albany launch on 26 March featured traditional Korean music by the Southern Cross Performing Group and a Chinese children’s group performance. The Tauranga launch on 16 April included Greek dance from the Aegean Islands, Macedonia and Pontos; a Korean fan dance; and an Indian/ Bangra group. Both launches were attended by Hon Tariana Turia, Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, and Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment; Ann Dysart, Manager Community Relationships, Family and Community Services, Ministry of Social Development; and Joris de Bres, Race Relations Commissioner.

Events included a potluck dinner for seniors, a celebration of the diversity in Fiji organised by Luvei Viti, a morning tea organised by the Pan-Pacific and South East Asian Women’s Association, and the Mabuhay Cultural Fair organised by the Wellington Mabuhay Association in the nearby Johnsonville Community Hall.

Founded in 1960, the New Zealand-Japan Society of Auckland is “a two-way bridge between two countries”. Its primary goals are:

• The promotion of understanding and goodwill between the people of Japan and New Zealand.
• The study of Japanese culture, both traditional and modern.
• To establish liaisons and promote cultural exchanges with Japanese individuals, groups and institutions.
• To extend hospitality to Japanese visitors to New Zealand and provide information for members and others proposing to visit Japan.
• To do all such things as are or may be incidental or conducive to the attainment of the foregoing objects.

The Rutherford College kapa haka group gave an outstanding performance at the Race Relations Report launch, and a variety of cultural groups (including, Indian, Filipino, South African and Caribbean) performed at the Race Relations Day event, where various contributors to the work of the Waitakere Ethnic Board and community were given certificates of acknowledgment. Waitakere City Libraries also had Race Relations Day displays and organised “Earth People” clay figure making activities in a number of schools.

Rutherford College kapa haka rōpū supported mana whenua representative Eru Thompson to open the Human Rights Commission’s launch of this year’s Race Relations Report. Guests were welcomed with a haka pōwhiri, to extend respect and manaaki towards the diverse audience. The kapa haka rōpū performed waiata and haka to support speakers throughout the day, concluding with a 10 minute finale. The young people made a deep impression on all those present, who came from a variety of ethnic and community groups, the media, and local and central government. The Race Relations Report was launched in Waitakere, Wellington and Christchurch. It is now available on the Human Rights Commission’s website.

Hamilton’s eight day festival had a programme packed with events and activities, including:

• ‘A parade of nations’, showcasing traditional national dress, and music and dance from all other the world.
• An international film festival, hosted by different communities.
• Community activities, including demonstrations, film, exhibitions and food.
• The Turangawaewae Regatta, involving a convoy of war canoe races on the Waikato river.
• A ‘Gathering of Cultures’ family day, with arts, crafts and food stalls; and entertainment on stage.

Palmerston North City Council held the festival in association with a number of voluntary groups. Highlights from the extensive programme included:

• An opening community cultural lantern parade.
• The World Food, Craft and Music Fair.
• ‘A Taste of Culture’ Cuisine Show.
• ‘Mosaic’- a multicultural worship service.
• Performances of ‘The Bone Feeder’.

The Macleans College Intercultural Club organised an intercultural quiz, special assembly and international food festival on 24 March to celebrate Race Relations Day. The events emphasised the diverse backgrounds of the school’s community. The school has been celebrating Race Relations Day for a number of years, in a range of creative and interesting ways, including performances showcasing traditional dress and flags from around the world, and music and dance. Teacher Isabelle Mouquet has shared her excellent Race Relations Day resources with teachers within and outside of the school to promote learning and discussion around race relations. The extensive resource is displayed on the Human Rights Commission’s website.

Over a period of three days from March 17, the Daily News published a series of full page features, photographs and news stories recalling the start of the Taranaki Land Wars in Waitara in 1860. Stories and photos covered the opening of the exhibition at Puke Ariki, the dawn ceremony at Waitara, the signing of terms of negotiation between the Crown, Taranaki Whānui and Te Atiawa, and interviews with local people. The features were on ‘The Land Wars, Waitara, Past and Present’. The series began with the statement “150 years ago today, the first shots were fired in a battle that lasted more than a decade and set the path for a young country’s future. The echoes of those musket shots and war cries can still be heard in the small Taranaki town that gave birth to the struggle. Over the next three days we will examine that legacy and what it means for Waitara today and into the future.” Sadly, apart from Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report, there was little coverage outside Taranaki of the anniversary of this major event in our history, despite the presence of the Prime Minister, Governor General and other national figures.

This major exhibition was opened by the Prime Minister on 17 March, the 150th anniversary of the commencement of the Taranaki Land Wars in Waitara. It tells the story of the war, using historic photographs, precious objects, digital technology and poignant first hand accounts. It is an unflinching look at the harsh reality of war and colonisation in Taranaki. This is the final in a series of five exhibitions on the theme of Common Ground leading up to the anniversary.

Previous exhibitions were Takapou Whāriki, which explored family history and identity; Taranaki Whenua which looked at issues surrounding land; Taranaki Culture which celebrated the region’s creativity; and Taranaki Fortunes which dealt with matters of regional economy. The current exhibition revisits all these topics of family, land, culture and economy in the light of the devastating effects of Taranaki war. There are plans to tour the exhibition to other parts of the country when it closes in August.

Hopefully all New Zealanders will have an opportunity to see Te Ahi Kā Roa, Te Ahi Kātoro, because the Land Wars are an important part of the history not only of Taranaki but also of New Zealand as a whole. This is one of the most important museum exhibitions of recent times in New Zealand, and is a tribute to the vision of Puke Ariki director Bill McNaught, his team and the organisations that have had the courage to sponsor such a challenging event.

Find out more on their website.

The small St Joseph’s Primary School in Waitara was one of four schools in New Zealand that won a Mazda-sponsored Treemendous School Makeover from Project Crimson this year. Their project was to transform an out of bounds swamp at the back of the school to a native wetland. The day for the transformation was 20 March, just as the region was focused on Waitara because of the 150th anniversary of the start of the Taranaki Land Wars. School Principal Moya Christophers said she had worried that perhaps the event would be overshadowed by tensions arising from the publicity around unresolved issues such as the fate of the Waitara endowment land leases and other Treaty claims, but that instead the planting day really brought the community together.

Several hundred people of Māori, Pākehā and other descent turned out to help, including students and their families, teachers, the local fire brigade, local church groups and service groups, as well as New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennant and local MP Jonathan Young. A pond was dug out and four boardwalks put up to allow access from one side of the wetland to the other and around 1000 native plants were planted on the day with the help of hundreds of volunteers. A restored wooden bridge was also transported to the area which now leads to a newly constructed outdoor classroom. The 183 pupil school was chosen from 94 nationwide applications to have its grounds enhanced with a native tree garden. The result is spectacular.

The guide includes practical information on finding a doctor and school, opening a bank account, assistance with learning English and information about Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The book was written by Shelley Davenport, Manawatu Settlement Support coordinator, and supported by Settlement Support NZ, the Department of Labour and the Palmerston North City Council. It is available from Palmerston North libraries, information centres and Settlement Support Palmerston North (ph 356 8199).

Rotorua’s first Holi festival brought together mana whenua, locals and international visitors. Whilst the festival originally intended to build relationships between local Māori and Hindu communities, the festival’s scope grew wider to include people from various faiths, communities and even countries. Held at Te Papaioru Marae in the Ohinemutu Village, the day included a powhiri; affirming speeches from mana whenua and Hindu communities; a “Mehndi Moko” workshop, bringing together Mehndi and Ta Moko art forms; belly dancing; a vegetarian hangi; and traditional Holi festivities, such as dancing and pouring coloured powder and water on each other. Holi (Festival of Colours) is a traditional Indian festival, promoting a good harvest and fertility of the land. It is hoped the festival will become an annual event.

• Some 3,500 people joining the specially created Race Relations Day Facebook page.
• Publication of the Human Rights Commission’s annual Race Relations Report.
• The Minister of Māori Affairs hosting a Race Relations Day reception at Orākei Marae in Auckland.
• The Minister of Ethnic Affairs hosting a government reception at Te Papa.
• The launch of Dr Edwina Pio’s book on Asian and MELAA migrants, Longing and Belonging, in Wellington and Auckland.
• A full day focusing on discrimination and social justice at the international Pacific Youth and Sports Conference organised by Oceania Football in Manukau, 15-20 March.
• A workshop on the Treaty and Migrants at Auckland Regional Migrant Services.
• The launch of guides to new settlers in Christchurch and Palmerston North.
• Holi Festivals in Rotorua and Waitakere, and a Hindu Youth celebration in Manukau.
• The Hawkes Bay International Festival in Hastings, the Lakeside Multicultural Festival in Takapuna and Culture Galore in Christchurch.
• A Race Relations Day Debate organised by the Auckland University Debating Society.
• A Race Relations Day exhibition and lunchtime event in Hawera.
• A Race Relations Day cabaret in Greymouth.
• A Race Relations Day expo and launch of a Newcomers Network in Gore.
• A Multicultural Christian Choral Service in Palmerston North.
• People in Harmony concerts in Blockhouse Bay.
• Events with a local community focus in Howick, Papatoetoe, Roskill South, Dargaville, Whangarei, Johnsonville, Waiuku and Pukekohe, and information stalls in Ruatoria, Opotiki, Te Araroa and Whakatane.
• Activities and acknowledgments in many schools, councils, libraries and churches around the country.

These were:

• Tauranga Multicultural Festival, 6 March, Tauranga Multicultural Council
• U & I Soccer Fest, 6 March, Rotorua Multicultural Council
• Race Relations Day networking event, 19 March, Christchurch Multicultural Council
• Dunedin Multi-ethnic concert and world potluck buffet, 20 March, Dunedin Multicultural Council
• Hutt City Race Unity Day Festival, 20 March, Hutt Multicultural Council
• Timaru Race Relations Day Dinner, 20 March, Aoraki Multicultural Council
• Southland Multicultural Food Festival, 20 March, Invercargill, Southland Multi-Nations Council
• North Shore City Race Relations Day Dinner, 21 March, North Shore Multicultural Council
• Nelson Race Unity Day Festival, 21 March, Nelson Multicultural Council
• Indigo Festival, 21 March, Hamilton, Waikato Multicultural Council
• Upper Hutt Festival of Cultures, 27 March, Upper Hutt Multicultural Council
• Palmerston North Festival of Cultures, 27 March, Manawatu Multicultural Council
• Taranaki Multicultural Extravaganza, 27 March, New Plymouth, Taranaki Multicultural Council
• Oamaru Multicultural Concert, 27 March, Waitaki Multicultural Council
• Franklin Multicultural Festival, 28 March, Pukekohe, Counties Manukau Ethnic Council

Border Crossings is an exhibition of Whanganui artists’ works, exploring cultural diversity, geographical borders, and identity and place. The artwork refers to borders between South Taranaki and Whanganui, as well as in the wider world. The title ‘Border Crossings’ reflects the intent to examine borders, between place and culture, and work towards crossing those ‘borders’. The exhibition is timed to coincide with a Race Relations Day celebration of lunchtime entertainment at the Hawera Town Square on March 19. Local dance groups and musicians will perform, accompanied by food stalls; peace flags created at the Parihaka Peace Festival 2010 will also be displayed. The Lysaght Watt Gallery is also offering an education programme based around the theme of Border Crossings to local schools. Border Crossings will be opened by Race Relations Commissioner, Joris de Bres, on March 2. Find out more online.

Upper Riccarton Library celebrated the Lunar New Year from February 20-21, by creating a space for local communities to mark the important calendar event. On Saturday the Korean community gave performances of dancing and drumming, and on Sunday the Chinese community celebrated with Tai chi, choir and Lion dance performances. There were also songs and stories, as well as lantern making and papercraft sessions.

On Feburary 16, the library hosted a workshop run by Chinese Paper Cut Artist, Liu Jieqiong, who was awarded the title of Master of Folk Art and Craft by UNESCO. Participants made Chinese paper cuts incorporating bat, bird, and flower designs, which symbolise good luck, health, wealth and success for the New Year. Paper cutting is a traditional art in rural Chinese communities as a way of recording ancient myths and storytelling. The workshop was supported by Asia NZ Foundation and the Christchurch Arts Centre.

Upper Riccarton Library’s celebrations are part of a wider Christchurch City Libraries initiative to recognise and celebrate diversity and multiculturalism in the city.

Kelsey was a finalist in the 2009 Race Unity Speech Awards. Following the awards she applied the principles she spoke about in her speech to her life at school and in her local community. Kelsey established a race unity group at Otago Girls High, where students from different cultures shared things about themselves and their lives. The group organised an international day with different types of food and cultural performances. She also spoke at a local primary school, where students had studied her speech. The students discussed different cultures and races living together.

Kelsey’s speech on ‘Good Neighbours Come from All Different Races and Cultures’ provoked thought about harmony and conflict between neighbours, and how “each of us has to make an effort, change will not come if we don’t act, if we don’t stop talking past each other, if we don’t stop just hearing and start actually listening, because as Henry David Thoreau once said ‘things do not change; we change’.”

The 2010 Race Unity Speech Awards, organised nationally in association with Race Relations Day, are coming up soon. More information is available on our website: the deadline for applications is March 8.

Gore’s multicultural Race Relations Day celebration will this year also mark the establishment of the Gore Newcomers Network. As last year’s event was such a success, this year’s Expo aims to reach out to Gore’s new community members and provide information about local services, such as the English language courses. There will be a movie and popcorn for the children. The event will be on March 18 from 7- 9pm at James Cumming Wing, Ardwick St, Gore. Contact Colleen Te Au or the Community Connection Centre for more information (03 208 8480).

The Hokinga Mai dawn ceremony, held at Canterbury Museum, marked the return home of the Mō Tātou exhibition from Te Papa. The exhibition is accompanied by Mō Kā Uri, showcasing both Ngāi Tahu taonga and contemporary work by leading Ngāi Tahu artists. It celebrates past and present Ngāi Tahu culture, with a focus on the Waitaha (Canterbury) and Tai Poutini (West Coast) regions.

The dawn opening was conducted by senior local kaumatua (tribal elders) and kaikarakia (prayer-leaders). Said Human Rights Commissioner Richard Tankersley, himself of Kai Tahu, Kati Mamoe and Waitaha descent, “It was a fine acknowledgement of the arrival home of our treasures, and a great opportunity for many people from a broad spectrum of the community to join with takata whenua in celebrating our identity, our history and our place in the community.”

Since the exhibition opened at Te Papa in 2006, over one million people have viewed and experienced the taonga. Now accompanied by Mō Kā Uri, it is the largest exhibition of Ngāi Tahu arts to date: “For the first time, more than 200 objects of cultural importance spanning more than 600 years of Southern Māori tradition and lifestyle will be on display.”

The exhibitions will run until 20 June 2010, accompanied by a range of programmes and events.

It is a celebration of cultural diversity and a commitment to harmonious race relations. It involves cultural performances, ethnic foods and dress, and sports, art, speech and essay competitions, intranet profiles, media features, discussions, intercultural exchange, people sharing their backgrounds, migration stories and opinions.

There are festivals and events in towns like Invercargill, Gore, Oamaru, Timaru, Greymouth, Blenheim, Nelson, Hawera, Waitara, Hastings, Palmerston North, Rotorua, Tauranga, Hamilton, Waiuku, Pukekohe, Dargaville, and Whangarei as well as the metropolitan centres.

If you are organising something in your community or workplace, let us know. You can also order a free Race Relations Day poster from nzdiversity@hrc.co.nz to promote the day. Also available are copies of the New Zealand Statement on Race Relations.

The Human Rights Commission will launch its annual review of race relations on 11 March in Auckland, in advance of Race Relations Day. It will be available on the Commission’s website, or you can order a hard copy from nzdiversity@hrc.co.nz .

March 21 recalls the tragic loss of life at Sharpeville in South Africa in 1960, and is dedicated by the United Nations to the achievement of the goals of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Form of Racial Discrimination. New Zealand signed the Convention in 1966 and ratified it 1972 after establishing the Office of the Race Relations Conciliator.

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of the Sharpeville Massacre, when South African police mowed down 69 unarmed people and injured 180 others who refused to carry the hated dompas identity document that was meant only for indigenous Africans.

The newly formed Pan Africanist Congress had called on Africans to leave their pass books at home that day, go to the nearest police station and demand to be arrested for not carrying the dompas. Every indigenous African male above the age of 16 had to carry the dompas on his person day and night and produce it on demand by the police. Failure to produce, forgetting the pass at home, or not having the right stamp, meant arbitrary arrest and jail.

When the police in Sharpeville saw the masses marching towards them, they panicked and opened fire, killing the 69 and injuring hundreds. There was an international outcry. In the aftermath of the massacre, following the declaration of a state of emergency on 30 March 1960, thousands of blacks were arrested throughout the country. In April 1960, the Nationalist Party (NP) government, under the premiership of apartheid architect Hendrik Verwoerd, banned the PAC and ANC, forcing the two movements to go underground and eventually into exile.

Today, 21 March is celebrated in South Africa as Human Rights Day, and is a public holiday. The ANC-led government chose Sharpeville as the venue to launch South Africa’s new Constitution, signed by its first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, on 8 May 1996.

In 2001, the government marked 21 March by unveiling the Sharpeville human rights memorial on the site outside the police station where the 69 men, women and children were shot – most of them in the back. Their names are all displayed on the memorial plaque.

Professor Paul Morris is Victoria University’s Programme Director for Religious Studies and his appointment is significant, as this is New Zealand’s first UNESCO Chair award. In his position as the UNESCO chair, he will engage in and publish research on religious change in New Zealand and the Pacific; foster links between scholars in the region; and engage with governments on the impact of religious and cultural change. Professor Morris has also been strongly involved in the NZ Diversity Action Programme and wrote the National Statement on Religious Diversity. The appointment will be formally announced at the 7^th National Interfaith Forum in Christchurch this weekend.

Andrew Corrêa, who is a composer, arranger and jazz musician based in West Auckland, is organising a Blockhouse Bay celebration with a view to uniting people from diverse cultures and ‘bringing the community together with music on Race Relations Day.’ There will be two shows, in which around 100 amateur musicians and dancers will perform a variety of cultural musical items that celebrate New Zealand’s rich diversity. Proceeds will be donated to local initiatives promoting unity.

The concerts are sponsored by the Blockhouse Bay Community Centre, and the two shows will run at 4pm and 8pm at the Blockhouse Bay Community Centre. Please email Andrew Correa to make a reservation.

Hamilton’s eight day festival kicks off with a fashion show and parade of international and traditional costume on March 14, and closes with a ceremony to mark Race Relations Day on March 21. The festival programme is extensive and includes a film festival showcasing international cinema with hosts from origin countries; dance and music performances; arts, crafts and international food; community activities at the Waikato Refugee and Migrant Centre; and a convoy of waka ama canoe races.

Indigo Festival

The goals of the festival are to:

• Educate people about the diverse cultures within Hamilton
• Celebrate the richness and colour of cultures in Hamilton
• Communicate and strengthen understanding between all cultures.

The event is supported by the Hamilton Community Arts Council, Hamilton City Council and the Department of Internal Affairs. You can find out more information on the Indigo website.

The Mixing Room is a product of collaboration between Te Papa and 70 refugee background young people from diverse communities, including Afghani, Bhutanese, Burmese, Burundian, Cambodian, Colombian, Congolese, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Iranian, Kosovar-Albanian, Rwanadan, Somali, Sudanese, Tamil, and Vietnamese. The exhibition presents the young people’s stories in a range of creative mediums, including art, short film, poetry, performance, screen-printing, cast glass and digital story-telling. It was underpinned by the ‘capacity building’ approach, whereby the young people were able to tell their stories in their own way and upskill themselves in the process.

Freedom banner made at Christchurch workshop.

Following initial consultation with community leaders, a youth forum was held. This confirmed the exhibition’s concept: ‘Optimism in a new land’, with the three themes of Challenge, Connection and Freedom. Subsequently, a Youth Reference Group was established in Wellington comprising 10 young people. The group has helped with choosing material for the exhibition and provided feedback to the development team, ensuring the project is defined by young people. Next, a set of 12 professional tutorial workshops were held with young people in the six main refugee settlement areas: Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington, Nelson and Christchurch. Young people from refugee backgrounds were employed to rally other young refugees to attend the workshops.

A taste of what is to be included in the exhibition can be viewed on the new Mixing Room blog. You can also watch the music video ‘Belong’ on Youtube. The end product, the multimedia ‘Mixing Room’ exhibition will open at Te Papa on April 10 and will run for three years in the community gallery.

Tirimoana Primary School ran a two week programme in which children were encouraged to share their culture with their classmates. The celebration included sharing cultural taonga, talking about what they represent and their significance to respective cultures. The project also engaged parents and family, with a very successful shared lunch of food from different countries: the theme was ‘something of your own culture or your favourite food.’ Tirimoana means ‘View of the sea’ and the school is located in Te Atatatu South, Waitakere. It has a roll of almost 600 students. The school encourages the celebration of diversity every day with values such as ‘Tolerance and Respect’.

Following the dawn service and hikoi to Mauao, Te Runanga o Ngaiterangi and Creative Tauranga are hosting an event to celebrate Māori arts and culture at Whareroa Marae Reserve. There will be breakfast food stalls and people can participate in interactive art workstations that explore contemporary and traditional Māori arts while listening to a line up of local bands and musicians. They can experiment with different types of art, including sculpture, carving and painting. The day kicks off at 9am.

The festival, held on Matakana Island on January 16, combined top music acts with a focus on Māori health. The festival, the first of its kind on the island, attracted 2,000 people. Te Awanui Hauora Trust spent over a year organising the event, which catered to all age groups, with a kaumatua section and dancing for elders, a rock concert, and activities for children. Musical talent included Katchafire, Herbs Unplugged, P-Money and Stan Walker, winner of Australian Idol 2009. The alcohol, smoke and drug-free event had food, art and craft stalls, and participants were encouraged to bring a picnic.

Te Awanui Hauora was established in 2003 to provide health services to Matakana and Rangiwaea islands. It provides a range of health, advocacy, and advisory services and won the 2009 Poutiri Trust Provider of the Year Award. The award recognised the quality of the trust’s service provision and its commitment to the Māori model of health: taha whanau, tinana, hinengaro, and wairua.

The Waikato Museum is hosting a panel discussion and forum to mark Waitangi Day. The forum is entitled ‘Te Tiriti Tatou Tatou: the Treaty for all’, and it aims to present diverse views on the topic by featuring speakers from a range of communities. The speakers come from New Zealand, Japan, Zimbabwe and Hawaii, and also from different sectors, including health, research and academia.

They are:

• Sandra Morrison, Chairperson and Associate Dean of the School of Māori Development at the University of Waikato
• Dr Ingrid Huygens, research advisor and Treaty educator
• Saburo Omura, PhD scholar researching how Asian migrants view the Treaty
• Fungai Mhlanga, health promoter at the Waikato Migrant Centre
• Minoaka Kapuaahiwalani-Fitzsimmons, alcohol and drug counsellor form Pacific Peoples Addiction Services.

The panel discussion and forum is on 28 January, from 6- 8pm at the Waikato Museum. You can RSVP by calling (07) 838 6606.

The year of the Tiger, which symbolises courage, begins on February 14, 2010 and will be celebrated in Auckland with a festival and market day. Auckland has a strong Chinese community, with over 100,000 Chinese people now living in the city. The festival has attracted large crowds for the past twenty years, and this year’s programme is packed with entertainment. Performers include a 20-person dragon dance troupe, acrobats and artists as well as traditional and contemporary Chinese musicians. The day will be opened by Prime Minister John Key, and those attending will also be able to sample Chinese delicacies and dishes from Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and other Asian countries.

The Auckland Chinese Community Centre began as the Auckland Chinese Hall around 1960, and became the Community Centre in 1975. It has a branch in Mangere and another in the city centre; it coordinates events and provides a recreational space for the Chinese community in the area. The Chinese New Year festival will be held on Saturday 13 February at the ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane, from 9.30am- 4pm.

The centre’s innovative project aims to improve both the physical and mental health of refugees arriving in New Zealand through teaching them gardening skills for the NZ climate. With a focus on planting and growing vegetables, ‘Gardening for Health’ also aims to provide new arrivals at the Mangere Centre with a sense of empowerment through working towards a level of self-sufficiency and ‘putting down roots’. The project has been incorporated into the already established health programme at the Centre, and is part of the ‘Let’s Beat Diabetes’ programme. As well as physical benefits, working in the garden provides “much-needed therapeutic time.” It is a joint effort between Refugees as Survivors, Counties Manukau District Health Board and the New Zealand Red Cross.

The NetherlaNZ Foundation is hosting the international Anne Frank exhibition which will travel for two years in New Zealand, from Whangarei to Invercargill to educate New Zealanders about the Holocaust. Based on the diary of Anne Frank, which has been translated into 65 languages, the exhibition opens at Te Papa on Feburary 10. It brings together both personal and world contexts and includes over 200 photographs of the Frank family, quotes from Anne’s diary, and historical information about the Holocaust. It also includes a documentary of interviews with New Zealand survivors of the Holocaust, as well as a ‘virtual Wailing Wall’ to which children can text their feelings. Prime Minister John Key, who will be opening the launch, states “No one who sees this exhibition and walks through this ‘house with a story’ could ever forget what racial hatred can do to a society.” The exhibition’s itinerary is available online.

English Language Partners NZ is commemorating both Race Relations Day and International Languages Day with their poster ‘Your mother tongue is a treasure- use it every day!’ The poster will be published in 17 languages: Arabic, Burmese, English, Farsi, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Māori, Punjabi, Russian, Samoan, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese. International Languages Day falls on February 21 and has been observed since 2000 with the intention of promoting linguistic and cultural diversity, and multilingualism. The day is also intended to “inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue”, which fits well with the sentiment of Race Relations Day on March 21.

The Royal Tigers beat the Pakistan Sevens in the Christchurch Multicultural Council Global 7s Cricket Tournament finals, battled out last Sunday. The tournament was open to players from all cultures and began on January 10. The 14 teams represented a range of communities living in Christchurch, including Afghani, Indian, Kiwi, Nepalese, Pakistani and Sri Lankan. Eight teams played in the semifinals on January 17. While rain delayed play, the games began at 3pm with enthusiastic support from families, local communities and spectators. The tournament was supported by the Christchurch City Council, Smileville Dental and Stirling Sports, with councillor David Cox awarding prizes on the Sunday evening.

Whakanuia 2010 will be held to celebrate Waitangi Day at Whakarewarewa, the thermal village in Rotorua. The day will include cultural workshops, including ones focused on native tree planting, language, music, history and traditions, storytelling and films. There will also be interactive arts and crafts, entertainment, food stalls, and health and wellbeing information. Whakanuia means ‘to acknowledge, to promote, to celebrate’, and the day is intended to bring together tangata whenua and other locals “to celebrate the diversity of other ethnic groups living in Rotorua”. It is a chance for Rotorua residents to learn more about each other’s cultural backgrounds; each year the event will celebrate another culture alongside Māori heritage. Last year the focus was on Pacific peoples, this year it is on cultures from Asia, including the Middle East and Far East. Whakanuia 2010 will kick off at 10am.

The Tauranga community can celebrate Waitangi Day in a range of ways this year, starting with a dawn service and 6am hikoi to the top of Mauao (Mt Maunganui). A karakia, followed by an inter-denomination church service will take place at the summit. Others involved and also acknowledged are Whareroa Marae Committee, Environment Bay of Plenty, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Tauranga Māori Wardens Association, Ngai Kaihoe o Takitimu Waka and Tauranga Church Community. The Race Relations Commissioner will be taking part in the Mauao dawn service and further celebrations in Tauranga on the day.

The competition and subsequent exhibition were held to celebrate Human Rights Day (December 10) and artists created their works on the theme of ‘Realising Your Rights’. In order to gain an understanding of human rights and the articles contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 25 entrants from both the adult and young person categories attended a seminar facilitated by Keren Martin, of the Taku Manawa programme, and Julie Watson, an Advisor at the Human Rights Commission. Many of the artists shaped their entries around the various articles of the Declaration.

The pointillist work of Barry Downes, who won the adult section, depicted rings symbolising different ethnicities. The exhibition and prizegiving were held at the King’s Theatre in Kawakawa, with the community both voting on the winners and supporting the event.

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

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.

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.

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:

• Bay of Plenty Chinese Culture Society: New Year Celebrations
• Ecuador Community Group: Inti Raymi (New Year)
• Italian Community of Tauranga: Carnival of Venice
• Kiwifruit Coast Shetland Society: Up-Helly-Aa
• Korean Community of Tauranga: Wedding Celebrations
• Tauranga Filipino Society: Sinulog Festival
• Tauranga Sikh Community: Wedding traditions
• Wontok Club: Celebration of Harvest

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.

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.

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.

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 19^th 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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

It involves the creation of a theatrical work and two visual installations, in a participatory arts project that places emphasis on mentoring and skill development. Eko Theatre has forged partnerships with a number of local individuals and groups. To lauch Phase One of the project, artist Erica Duthie has worked with young people at Berhampore Primary School to create Tape Art, which consists of making large drawings of their understanding of the theme of identity using tape. Erica says: “You can see on their faces the sense of ownership once their drawings span the entire architecture of the school.” The Southern Corridor Project has also partnered young people from South Wellington Intermediate with photography students from Massey University to take photos of their surroundings, again exploring identity. A cultural exchange initiated by the Somali Women’s Group involves them meeting with local Māori women to learn from and share each others weaving and other aspects of their cultures. Students of Wellington East Girls College and Rongotai College will work together to create an interactive visual art event and participate in playback theatre.

In the coming months, the programme plans to facilitate mentoring around art, photography, performance and installation design, and sound recording. Read more about the project online.

The finals were battled out on October 17 between the UK Kiwi, Somali, Euroasian and Fijian teams, with the UK Kiwis beating last year’s Somali winners. The Euroasian and Fijian teams came third and fourth. While teams identify along ethnic and cultural lines, many teams are diverse in their makeup, for example the Upper Hutt Chilean team has a Mexican captain and two French players. As the Somali team won the national New Zealand Communities’ Football Cup (NZCFC) last year both they and the UK Kiwi team will take part in this year’s national tournament.

The 2009 New Zealand Communities’ Football Cup is at stake in Palmerston North on November 7 and 8, with teams coming from a number of centres. The tournament will be co-hosted by the Palmerston North City Council and the Palmerston North Central District Police. A festival and information stands highlighting important services and support for ethnic communities are also planned for the tournament.

She has written Discovering Diversity: How Diverse Values and Beliefs of World Religions are Shaping Our Identity as a textbook for Level 5 Social Studies in the new curriculum, specifically for achievement objectives 3, 4 and 7. Discovering Diversity examines Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism through the lens of social inquiry, and brings together the beliefs and values underpinning these religions, including stories and traditions from each religion.

The textbook engages students by incorporating the history of the religions in New Zealand and specific examples of how young people observe their religions here and how their religions influence their lives and identity. The text also encourages discussion, with each section including activities for students to evaluate and analyse the concepts and the strengths and challenges of diverse values and beliefs. The book is published by Pearson Education New Zealand.

Denny Newburn is a literacy leader at James Cook High School and her book is a guide for students to learn about the dynamic face of New Zealand in the context of a diverse and mobile world. It encourages students to analyse statistical information on migration to New Zealand, to look to their own communities and to think of the way that living with different cultures enriches experiences ranging from eating, to education and shopping.

Based upon discussion of New Zealand’s earliest settlers, newer arrivals from the Pacific, East Asia, India and South Africa are interviewed and introduced. These introductions are followed by the histories and important cultural activities and celebrations of the countries they come from, accompanied by some of the reasons that people from their country may have decided to emigrate to New Zealand. The Changing Face of New Zealand encourages students to identify with people who have migrated to Aotearoa, and to talk about the issues that new arrivals may face, including dealing with racism. Denny Newburn’s book is also published by Pearson Education New Zealand.

As Mayor Len Brown states, the festival highlights the city’s artistic talent and diversity – in genre as well as culture: “We are so proud of how this event has evolved over the years to become a world-class extravaganza.” The Hot Mic, Spoken Word Evening, involved a DJ dropping a beat to support artists, rappers and MCs to showcase their poetic abilities. Other acts over October included ‘Ardijah and Special Guests in Funk and Soul Fused Evening’, with Whirimako Black, Ruia Aperahama, and Che Fu; Southside Comedy; and Southside Gig for young people, with breakdancing, hip hop and graf art. Performances lined up for November include ‘Lyrical Sisters’ for emerging female artists, including Pikiteora Mura-Hita, winner of Homai Te Pakipaki and the Villa Maria Cultu-Couture awards. The Manukau Festival of Arts also features the Manukau Film Festival, sculpture, carving and theatre. Keep up to date with the programme and the many events online.

Beginning on the Friday evening and winding down on Sunday night, this celebration of Filipino culture in New Zealand was a huge success, attracting 8,000 people. Filipino fiestas are traditionally held as an opportunity for families to come together at harvest time, give thanks and celebrate life. This year’s programme included a huge range of events and performances from a variety of both ‘Kiwi’ and traditional Filipino sports tournaments to a market day; a dance fusion competition; and a talent quest and cultural pageant.

Palmerston North’s Cathedral of the Holy Spirit was packed to capacity for the event, with 650 members of the public attending to enjoy the performance and support their local communities. Fourteen choirs performed, including groups from Palmerston North’s Russian, Tamil, Congolese and Tokelauan communities, many of whom were dressed in their national costumes.

An organiser recounted how some of those attending were moved to tears, seeing the pride in which small communities stood together and sung their traditional songs of praise. Many people stayed afterwards to meet, mingle, and share afternoon tea, which was provided by the Rotary Club. The event exemplifies community collaboration, with the Ethnic Council of Manawatu, the Palmerston North Rotary Club, Access Radio, the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit and the Department of Internal Affairs all being involved in organising the celebration.

This range of language programmes is grounded in the philosophy that students must have a strong base in one language to learn a second language effectively, and that strong basis then enables students to transfer the base skills of one language to the second language learning. Shirley Maihi, Principal of Finlayson Park Primary School, has been instrumental in setting the language programmes in motion after undertaking extensive consultation with the community: the language programmes are a response to the community’s request for a strong, effective learning environment for their children.

The school offers students options to be schooled in

• English mainstream medium from Year 0- 6
• Te Huringa Rumaki Reo (total immersion Māori) from Year 0- 8
• O Le Taiala (Samoan bilingual) from Year 0- 8
• Te Roopu Reo Rua (Māori bilingual) from Year 0 -8.

The school has also recently started to support migrant students to complete some of their classes in their mother tongue languages. The emphasis on multiculturalism has also seen the proliferation of many different cultural dance groups, providing further opportunities for students to learn from each others’ cultures.

With the support of Settlement Support New Zealand they are now delivering the workshops to migrant centres in different regions including Napier, Palmerston North, New Plymouth and Waikato. The workshops are based on an interactive workbook Tangata Tiriti – Treaty People. The workbook was produced especially for migrant and refugee communities in response to an expressed need for greater understanding of the Treaty and indigenous issues to assist in job interviews, school participation and civic dialogue.

This year they have begun a process of training facilitators from diverse communities in Auckland, including Filipino, Chinese, Sri Lankan, Indian, Samoan, Zimbabwean, Indonesian, Hawaiian and Argentinian – to enable them to deliver the workshops to their own communities. A graduation ceremony will be held at Orakei Marae on November 7. If you would like to purchase copies of the interactive workbook or find out about a workshop in your region than please contact the Treaty Education Group.

The video depicts a student who is bullied- played by Rung from Myanmar- being supported by other students to challenge this, to stand up for his rights and the rights of others, and to take his complaint to the school principal. The students who produced the video come from a range of cultures, including Burmese, Cook Island, Indo-Fijian, Niuean, Samoan, Tokelauan, Tuvaluan and Vietnamese. Their video features the ‘Youth for Human Rights’ theme song from the U-N-I-T-E-D video which inspired their project. ‘Stand Up 4 Ur Rights’ was presented to the Porirua Junior College assembly and received such a positive response it was posted on YouTube.

The project initiated Neighbours Day, which took place on October 17 in Auckland, and promoted communities across the region to connect with their neighbours through actions ranging from baking each other a cake, to walking a neighbour’s dog, or organising a street afternoon tea or barbeque. Examples of people doing things in their neighbourhoods include people going door-knocking to meet their neighbours and invite them round for afternoon tea; people helping their neighbours to deal with racist graffiti; and people organising a local international food festival. The organisation Lifewise tackles issues of poverty, violence and isolation, and began the Know Your Neighbours Project as a way to break down barriers and build stronger support networks within communities. The project also promotes longer term initiatives including creating community gardens, carpooling and building parents’ groups. Know Your Neighbours hosts an excellent website with stories and tips on how to build strong communities.

Minority Voices is a series of ten episodes, which aims to give a voice to new New Zealanders, representing the experiences of those who have resettled in Aotearoa. The series presents personal stories, both of those who have thrived and enjoyed life in New Zealand, and of those who have struggled with challenges such as language barriers and difficulties finding work. Each episode has three documentaries of a cross-section of migrants and refugees. Stories include a Chilean who comes face to face with his torturer twenty years later on Queens Wharf in Wellington; a tango dancing Turkish architect; and a Cambodian mother experiencing her first birth in New Zealand.

Migrants were asked the questions ‘What do you want to say to your communities and wider Aoteaora and what do you think people need to know about you and your experiences?’ Producer/director Julia Parnell was influenced by her own experience of becoming a refugee volunteer with a Burmese family and seeing the challenges faced by new arrivals. Her goal in making Minority Voices was “to create a series that gave new New Zealanders an opportunity to introduce themselves by sharing with wider Aotearoa their personal experiences settling here- in their own words.” The series will premiere on December 6 at 11.30am on TV1.

Helen Keivom, Karlo Mila and Prue Taylor of Paekakariki wanted to do something to express their sympathy and solidarity with the Tongan community both here and in Tonga and decided to bring together a collection of poets from Aotearoa to raise money for the victims of the disaster. Around 150 people attended the Paekakariki fundraiser, in which Apirana Taylor, David Geary, Glenn Colquhoun and Karlo Mila read their poems. Readings were complemented by lively and moving performances from musicians and the the Paekakariki School Kapa Haka group and much audience participation. Children wrote messages in chalk to Tonga, and the local community brought tapa, plants and flowers to the afternoon event held at the St Peters Hall in Paekakariki. Koha donations raised $1200 for the victims of the disaster.

Hon. Luamanuvao Winnie Laban commented on what a remarkable event it was, with both laughter and tears from the audience: “I was so proud that the Paekakariki Community put on this event to honour our Pacific sisters, brothers and children lost at sea.” Hola Taue, of the Tongan Advisory Council of Auckland spoke of “the aroha that went from the people gathered in the hall to the mourning families in Tonga.”. Watch ‘Poets for Princess Ashika’ on Youtube. No doubt there will be many further initiatives this month in response to the Pacific earthquake and tsunami.

Muntu was commissioned by the World Council of Churches and first performed in Kenya in 1976. In between directing the cast, Wakanyote’s programme includes a talk at Victoria University on ‘Drama in Kenyan Politics, and the Politics of Drama’ on October 8 and a fundraising ‘Harambee’ concert at Wellington’s Downstage on October 11. The cast will perform Muntu from October 16- 18 in Otaki, Lower Hutt and Wellington. Wakanyote will then travel to Auckland, and finally to Rawene, where he will speak on the arts in Kenya on October 31.

Wakanyote intends to integrate the drama with the themes of indigenous language preservation, ‘land, language, theatre’ and ‘telling our own stories’. With poetry readings and storytelling, public readings and productions of plays from Africa and the African diaspora, the African Connection Aotearoa Trust seeks to give voice to the many refugees and migrants who find it hard to communicate with New Zealanders whose experience of life, and image of Africa, is so different from their own. Trust founders Wanjiku Kiarie and Martyn Sanderson have been active in this endeavour for thirty years. Since its formation in 2007, the Trust has held poetry and play readings, mentored aspiring actors, playwrights and screenwriters and developed contacts with a range of community groups. They have a site on Givealittle where you can make a donation to their work.

Some 180 people from Manawatu’s diverse communities were welcomed by Wiremu Te Aweawe of Rangitane and the Ross Intermediate School Kapa Haka Group, and entertained by a variety of other cultural groups. The Mayors of Palmerston North City and Manawatu District expressed their support for the report’s recommendations and their commitment to address the issues raised. The report is a cooperative initiative by the Ministry of Social Development’s Settling In Programme, local councils, government agencies, the Manawatu Multicultural Council and other community services groups. The project consulted 30 focus groups made up of members of migrant communities and international students to identify their views and experience about access to health and education services and public responses to the increasing diversity of the community.

The report recommends the establishment of a newcomers’ network, a volunteer centre and an information resource for new migrants along with an action programme to address broader issues. The report noted that there have already been a series of positive initiatives in the Manawatu including the first “Ethkick” soccer tournament, a “Rainbow Praise” service involving the diverse Christian ethnic communities, the celebration of World Refugee Day, women only swimming nights at the local swimming pool and a research project on diversity at work. The report is available to view on the Commission’s website.

This year marks the 240^th anniversary of the meeting between tangata whenua and Captain Cook in Tūranganui ā Kiwa (Gisborne). The festival was first held in 2006, and the annual event looks forward to a major commemoration for the 250^th anniversary in 2019. This year’s festival is on Saturday October 10, beginning at 8.30am at Kaiti Beach with a mihi whakatau, followed by a march to the flag staff. The morning programme will include the telling of stories and musical performances and close with a final blessing before brunch. In the afternoon a historical tour on MV Takitimu will be open to the public and the HMNZS Manawanui will also be open to visitors. There is an evening event with various guest speakers on the theme of voyages.

Te Ūnga Mai Trust promotes the recognition of the stories, including navigational traditions, of all cultures in the region. The Trust works to promote place-based heritage education in schools and in the wider community. Te Ūnga Mai Festival has become a major event on the race relations calendar in Gisborne.

The portraits are complemented by Film Archive clips about the immigrant experience in New Zealand from the Archive’s secondary schools On Disk programmes Representations of Pasifika and Immigrants. Amituanai happened upon this footage while killing time in the capital. She recognised her own Samoan family’s migrant aspirations in those of migrants and refugees from elsewhere. “I watched the immigration DVD in particular, and it occurred to me that many things that I had been looking at in my own cultural milieu could be found in other immigrant cultures. The adjustment to a new environment’s climate, language, new systems and finding new communities is one major effort. Another is not being always being fully accepted by the new homeland. Also the experience of feeling like being in two places simultaneously, one in the new adopted country and the other placed in the ancestral homeland.”

In November 2008 Amituanai began working as a volunteer for Refugee Services in Auckland, and was part of a team involved with the resettlement of the Lai family who migrated from Burma to their new home in West Auckland. It was five months before she and the family felt comfortable about taking her camera out, taking photographs of their adjustment to life in New Zealand. Amituanai says the experience of the migrant Lai family in La fine del mondo has been mostly positive. “From my conversations with the teenage Nunu (who is pictured in the exhibition in her school uniform) she thinks New Zealand is a relatively good place with lots of good people. But of course it is still very difficult to settle in a new country.”

The small but thought provoking exhibition continues until Saturday 11 October. Film Archive Education Programme Manager Alex Burton says, “The Immigrants programme has been one of our most successful and has been seen by over 2000 school children around the country. We’re delighted Edith has made this exhibition which integrates the moving image alongside her outstanding portraits.” Find out more about the exhibition online.

Produced by Maia Media Ltd, it follows Erica’s journey as she interviews her pakeke (elders) on the East Coast about te reo Māori in preparation for her school’s annual speech competition. Their stories are a bitter-sweet account of an era when Māori children were punished for speaking their native language and, despite the odds, how te reo continues to flourish today. The DVD was launched at Tairawhiti Polytechnic’s Toihoukura to an appreciative local audience, and is available on Youtube or through the Gisborne Herald’s website. Erica told the Gisborne Herald this week that the stories from the old people “weren’t very pretty” because of the struggle older generation Maori went through to retain the language. “Because Tini Glover is my great uncle, it was very moving to hear his story and see him cry,” she said. “I hope it gets all around New Zealand because I don’t even think people know how hard it was for them.” This year’s Māori Language Awards will be announced at He Huia Kaimanawa, the Māori Language Expo at the Te Rauparaha Arena and Events Centre in Porirua on October 15-16.

Mayor Michael Laws told the 11 and 12 year olds that their teacher should be sacked and they should control their anger. “When your class starts addressing the real issues affecting Maoridom particularly the appalling rate of child abuse and child murder within Maori society, then I will take the rest of your views seriously.” Despite the inappropriate and offensive reply from the Mayor, the children stood their ground and responded on television with dignity and respect. We say good on you kids, ka pai and keep on writing letters if your feel strongly about something. At least the New Zealand Geographic Board has now agreed with you, even if the Mayor didn’t.

Building on the services the Trust already delivers, the centre will bring together new and existing services and extend the access of diverse Russian and Slavonic speaking community in Christchurch to support and resources, and will be located at the Christchurch Community House (141 Hereford St, 5^th floor). It will link and work with Community Law, Citizens Advice Bureau, as well as the Christchurch City Council and libraries, Work and Income and employment agencies. It will also provide settlement support, access to resources in Russian and other Slavonic languages, ESOL programmes, information on using Language Line and accessing interpreters, and organise seminars and presentations by outside agencies. Established in 2000, the Russian Cultural Centre Trust of Christchurch has promoted education about and preservation of Russian language and culture amongst Russian community in Christchurch. The trust currently operates a pre-school and a Russian school. It also offers English classes for adult learners, a Health and Aging project and a Youth Theatre project. The launch will be held at 5.30pm on October 7 at the Christchurch Music Centre (140 Barbadoes Street). Contact the Russian Cultural Centre Trust of Christchurch to RSVP (ph. 03 940 9482).

The tea ceremony that was to have been held in the teahouse throughout the day by the Nelson Japan Society was instead held under a cherry blossom tea in the gardens, and over 2,000 people attended. The festival was hosted by the Nelson Miyazu Sister City Association to mark 33 years of sister city friendship with Japan. This was Nelson’s 13^th celebration of the coming of spring. The festival also included Japanese entertainment and food. The Rai Jin Taiko Drumming Group, formed to perform traditional drumming at last year’s festival, was noted as a highlight of the day. The brief of the Nelson Miyazu Sister City Association is to promote global cooperation at the local level and cultural understanding, stimulate economic development and foster a network of individuals and organisations to create and strengthen partnerships between communities. The Nelson-Miyazu sister city link has been praised as one of the most active and successful in New Zealand. Both the Nelson Miyazu gardens and the teahouse are initiatives of the organisation. Japanese Festivals were also held in September in Palmerston North, Wellington and Auckland.

The workshops will culminate in a free community concert at the Otara Music and Arts Centre on October 2. This year Young Sid, lead rapper from Smashproof, and DJCXL have worked with musicians from the APO to run the workshops. The initiative was spearheaded by Matthew Faiumu Salapu- Anonymouz and Lee Martelli, the Education Manager of the Auckland Philharmoia Orchestra. Anonymouz describes how the collaboration produced great results last year and how he is excited about the upcoming workshops: “It’s great when you have the likes of Young Sid and DJCXL involved, because of who they are they can share so much, and not just musically. Most importantly, we’re giving a positive message to these kids who need that kind of influence in their lives.”.

The project is presented by the Mazda Foundation and supported by the Manukau City Council, Four Winds Foundation and David Levene Foundation. The APO Remix Vol.2 Finale Concert will start at 4pm on October 2 at the Otara Music and Arts Centre in Manukau City- entry is free but RSVP to the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.

They were welcomed by kaumatua Wiremu Kora, who said mid-Canterbury was “like a big cultural melting pot”, and by District Mayor Bede O’Malley. The purpose of the meeting was to present ideas on how to support and assist newcomers and to get feedback from the wider community. The report made 17 major recommendations for action on the basis of focus group discussions that were held from late 2007 and May 2009. There were groups for ESOL learners, Romanian learning centre clients, Pacific secondary school students, Filipino farm workers, Samoan women, Chinese temporary residents and a number of other mixed and specific groups. The report also contains valuable feedback from social service providers and employers, including a farming sector focus group which raised important issues facing migrant workers and their families in the rural sector.

The report provides a valuable basis for future action by government departments, employers, local government agencies, other service providers and community groups. Going by the mood of the meeting and the organisations represented, there is a strong commitment to improve the situation for newcomers and migrants in mid-Canterbury. If you would like a copy of the report please email Raewyn Barclay of Ashburton Safer Community Council.

The organisation has just released its Annual Report for 2008-09, which is a model of good practice for a community organisation. It demonstrates a strong commitment to accountability, is very accessible and includes a strong voice of stakeholders. The report notes that CRS service delivery falls within five key areas: bilingual community work, social work, youth work, health promotion, and ‘living well in Christchurch’ alongside a children’s service.

This year has seen the commencement of a youth service delivery to young people from migrant backgrounds (parallel to the current service to those from refugee backgrounds) and participation in the delivery of the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) training package to mental health clinicians. Bi-lingual and family support workers fill a crucial role in the organisation’s work A key aim for CRS in 2009/10 is “An ongoing commitment to professional, culturally responsive practice informed by best practice principles…”. Over the 2008/09 year, CRS provided ongoing specialist social work services to 523 people of 51 ethnicities. If you would like an electronic copy of the report please email CRS.

The Council was a co-sponsor of Race Relations Day this year and in conjunction with the Office of Ethnic Affairs and the Asia New Zealand Foundation contributed to the flagship event, People in Your Neighbourhood.

The project brought together young artists and performers from Auckland’s ethnic communities to work with acclaimed UK string collective Urban Soul Orchestra to create an album and perform a live music show. The show was performed at the Transmission Room in Auckland and at the WOMAD Festival in Taranaki in March, and the album was widely distributed. The title “People in your Neighbourhood” was used both as a reference to the increasing multi-ethnicity of Auckland City, and as a vehicle to show the potential for intercultural collaboration in the arts in this rapidly changing community.

Planning is now underway for People in Your Neighbourhood 2010, which will involve participatory media and online skills development for young aspiring creative entrepreneurs. The shows in May 2010 will involve worldwide live internet streams and cutting edge visual digital media.

People wanted a local marae to support tangihanga, ensure that Māori tikanga, kawa and heritage were maintained, and to build harmonious relations between Māori and Pakeha.That was back in 1973 and a long period of fundraising ensued.

The project was supported by Manukau Mana Whenua, the Manukau City Council, sports groups, churches, service organisations, schools, community trusts and local businesses. A site was identified in 1978 and designated for use as a marae by the Land Court in 1984. The first wharekai, Matukutureia, was opened in 1989, and the Whare Tipuna, Matukurua, ten years later in 1999. A second wharekai, Matukuturura, was subsequently added. Today the marae is an important cultural and community centre and safe haven for all members of Manurewa’s multi-ethnic community.

The marae boasts daily interaction with many different cultural groups as it extends it services to the wider community. It has proudly hosted events such as a World Peace Federation hui, an Asian cultural exhange hui, and a local schools kapa haka competition. A wide range of community classes are held there, including te reo, kapa haka, tai chi, korowai and health education. Last year the marae held a Taonga Culture Integration Day where people of different cultures shared their cultural treasures and ways of living. Other recent community events have included Mana Wahine and Mana Tane days, Matariki, and Manurewa Ora day focusing on health and social services. The Human Rights Commmission’s annual Race Relations Report was launched at the marae in March. While we celebrate the contribution of Manurewa marae, we also grieve with them at the recent tragic accident on their premises as a new building was being put in place.

The report highlighted the needs of the increasing numbers of new migrants recruited to the coast to meet labour shortages in the energy, tourism, dairying and other sectors. A Migrant Services Manager was appointed with the support of Solid Energy, Settling In and Development West Coast.

New Coasters was formed to help newcomers settle into the community and support them as they begin their new lives. Support is offered through introductions, provision of resources and information, and promotion of the multi-cultural aspects of the Coast community.

New Coasters has supported the development of Newcomers Networks in Reefton, Westport and Hokitika and organised the first ever Race Relations Day family picnic on the Coast in March. Other projects have included a cultural evening in Greymouth and a shared meal in Reefton. Most recently, they have worked with the children of Blaketown Primary School to produce a set of booklets written by children for children introducing the Coast to new migrants. New Coasters opened its own office and migrant resource centre in Greymouth in August 2009.

PEETO is a unique place – a Multicultural Learning Centre – where people from all over the world join other new New Zealanders in a learning environment that has been built on the principles of Aiga (family).

PEETO has three subsidiaries: PEETO Pasifika Education and Employment Training Organisation, PEETO Asia Pacific English Language College and PEETO Intercultural Development Trust (the not-for-profit division). Trust programmes in 2009 include migrant and refugee orientation programmes (funded by the Department of Labour), intensive literacy and numeracy programmes, (funded by the Tertiary Education Commission), the ESOL assessment & access specialist service (funded by the Tertiary Education Commission), and a migrant and refugee employment advocacy service (funded by the Ministry of Social Development).

It has also delivered driver education programmes for migrants, international students and refugees (funded by Christchurch City Council). The Trust has provided sponsorship for individuals and groups whose activities help to enrich the multicultural flavour of Christchurch. Directors and staff have long been active in supporting multicultural initiatives and networks in Christchurch and nationally. Over the years the Trust has hosted and opened its facilities to many community meetings and activities.

The Council employs a coordinator and a field worker. It organises various social activities and support services for new migrants, including monthly pot-luck dinners, a multicultural women’s group, a multicultural mums and toddlers group and the Nelson Newcomers Network. The field worker provides advice, information and support for new migrants. The Council was instrumental in producing the booklet Useful Tips for Migrants, now in its second edition, and more recently an educational DVD for former refugee families on child nutrition and oral health.

The Council organises public events such as the annual Race Unity Festival on Race Relations Day in March, the interdenominational multi-ethnic Rainbow Praise service in the Cathedral, activities for the Week of Prayer for World Peace in October, a Global Family Fun Day. It assists in promoting the Global Football Festival and Kai Festival on Waitangi Day to the various ethnic communities. This year the Council received a TrustPower community award in recognition of the contribution volunteers have made to the community.

The Council worked closely with the Settling In programme, government departments, councils and local communities to produce a report on settlement in Nelson and Tasman in 2005, and most recently was one of the driving forces behind the landmark report on reporting racist incidents in Nelson, which was launched in August 2009. Also this month, it opened a new shop front office in the Nelson CBD jointly with English Language Partners and the Nelson Newcomers Network.

Its projects include an annual conference to discuss aspects of Samoan language learning, the Samoan Language Secondary Schools Speech contest, observance of Samoan Independence Day and Samoan Language Week in May.

This year, F.A.G.A.S.A Inc. partnered with the Human Rights Commission, Va’amanu Pasifika, the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs and the Pacific Media Network to extend participation in Samoan Language Week from schools to the wider community. The event was widely covered in Pacific and other media and new participants included early childhood centres, churches, libraries, Te Papa and tertiary institutions. They succeeded in raising the profile of the Samoan language and community significantly and have already decided that there will be an even bigger Samoan Language Week in May next year.

The current focus of research is mental health, lifestyle issues, barriers in accessing health and social services, and settlement and integration. From its inception, the Centre has been a leading advocate for greater attention to the specific health issues of the rapidly growing Asian communities in New Zealand.

It has organised three major international conferences in Tamaki on Asian Health and Wellbeing (in 2004, 2006 and 2008) and is planning for a fourth one in July 2010 on the theme of a holistic approach to Asian Health with three streams on physical, mental and socio-economic health and wellbeing. Current research projects include the Asian stream of the longitudinal study of children and families growing up in New Zealand, Asian families settlement in New Zealand (funded by the Families Commission), lifestyle and mental health issues (funded by Canterbury District Health Board), the Asian stream of the obesity guidelines, the South Asian HEHA project (funded by the Ministry of Health), a culturally responsive service to work with refugee youth recovering from mental health problems (funded by Te Pou), and impacts of work experiences of Asian immigrants on family wellbeing (funded by the Families Commission). The Centre hosted a forum on Asian health issues at this year’s Diversity Forum.

The scope of their voluntary services has since been extended to the wider Muslim community with a specific focus on vulnerable women, children and families. Their services include information, advice, advocacy, referrals, positive parenting in the New Zealand context, community awareness of family violence, positive ageing, addressing women in isolation, home visits, a food bank, and health and nutrition workshops.

They have a part time family services coordinator, two social work student placements and a small team of volunteers. They organised the first ever professional development workshop on “working with Muslim families” which attracted over 300 people and hold fortnightly meetings of a Muslim Women’s network. The aims of the Trust are to enhance the wellbeing of Muslim women, children and families who are socially and economically disadvantaged, and to work collaboratively with Muslim community leaders, religious leaders, central government agencies, local authorities and non government organisations to address the issues identified. Communities that benefit from Umma Trust programmes include refugee and migrant families from Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Pakistan, India, South Africa, Bangladesh and Fiji.

Its governance model is Treaty-based, with a Tikanga Māori House representing Whanganui iwi and a Civic House representing major community stakeholders. Representatives from the two Houses form the Joint Council which governs the Museum. Decisions are made by agreement of a majority of both Houses.

The Museum’s most recent major exhibition has been Te Pihi Mata, The Sacred Eye, which opened in 2007 and displays photographs of Whanganui iwi taken by WHT Partington from 1892-1908. 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. The exhibition was developed in full consultation with Whanganui iwi, and won the inaugural Museums Aotearoa Exhibition/Visitor Achievement Award in 2008 for this process. Te Pihi Mata closes next month.

Other exhibitions at the Museum 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. The Museum’s latest project, Family Treasures He Mapihi Maurea 2009, is a bi-annual community project involving Year 7 and 8 students, their families, their schools and the Museum which culminates in an exhibition opening in October.

Information services that can be accessed from within the library or from home include:

• Migrant web pages in 21 community languages
• Library catalogue searching in Chinese, Māori and Samoan
• Press Display- international and national newspapers online

WCL contribute to a large number of cultural events across the world calendar and in Aotearoa with displays and activities, and make their spaces available for use by various groups. Established ongoing services include:

• Te reo story times
• Senior’s Tea and Tales
• ESOL time
• Extensive foreign language collections

One initiative that has gone nationwide is the Race Relations Day Earth People project in which children make clay figures and talk about their diversity and common humanity. At this year’s Diversity Forum, WCL has launched a DVD, Our Place, Your Place, about Wellington’s Muslim communities and the libraries. They also co-hosted the annual librarians’ forum as part of the Diversity Forum. Increased engagement with Wellington’s diverse communities has resulted in customers having a greater degree of comfort, being welcome and wanting to use their library to their best advantage. To further ensure ease of access, interpreters can be requested.

The Auckland branch of the Association undertakes a wide range of visibility initiatives which cater for senior lifestyle groups, women and young professionals. Regular activities range from sport tournaments and Chinese New Year celebrations to youth leadership and cultural storytelling conferences.

The Association’s fourth Going Bananas conference, entitled Rising Dragons, Soaring Bananas, was held this July in partnership with the International Society for the Study of Chinese Overseas. This international conference explored what it meant to be Chinese and showcased the journeys, stories and identities of leading Chinese personalities making an impact in New Zealand and on the global stage.

The Association is currently working alongside Auckland City Libraries to establish the Chinese Digital Community. This interactive website seeks to connect different generations of Chinese New Zealanders and build a wider community of interest in Chinese lives and experiences. The website provides current and future generations with faster and easier access to memories of those who have contributed deeply to the building of this nation, ensuring Chinese New Zealand stories are kept alive forever.

Recognising the barriers new kiwis face when entering the New Zealand job market, OMEGA has a series of practical programmes designed to remove these barriers, and increase the employment of skilled migrants in Auckland – in jobs that match their qualifications and experience. At the same time OMEGA helps businesses to productively harness the valuable talents, skills and diversity migrants bring with them.

OMEGA’s flagship Mentoring Programme facilitates occupation-specific mentoring, matching migrants with professionals in Auckland who share the same skills and industry knowledge. Mentors make a commitment of 16 hours over 16 weeks and include some of Auckland’s leading business figures. There are over 144 mentors, coming from 61 different companies, who have collectively given over 2500 hours of pro bono support to the programme. To date, migrants have come from 47 different countries, over 150 have been matched with mentors, and 80 percent who have completed the programme have found relevant employment.

Hosted for a period of three years within the Committee for Auckland with seed funding from the Tindall Foundation, OMEGA was formally launched in March 2008 and is shortly to become an independent not-for-profit organisation with funding support from several national corporates.

SKY television channel Nickelodeon New Zealand broadcast five special episodes in te reo Māori several times a day during Maori Language week, as well as multiple screenings of an English language version of the making of the episodes. They also ran an online competition to win t-shirts and stickers, and had downloadable colouring pages and key Māori phrases. Tiare Tāwera and Matutaera Ngaropo were the voices behind SpongeBob’s te reo debut, working with Cinco Cine, which specialises in Māori language children’s programmes. The CEO of the Maori Broadcasting Agency, Te Māngai Pāho highlighted the value of extending te wiki o te reo Māori to this young audience: “Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori is intended to encourage New Zealanders to learn te reo Māori. We believe the Spongebob Tarau Porowhā shows will contribute to the education of New Zealand kids about te reo Māori- in a way that is fun.” Among other businesses actively promoting Māori Language Week was Air New Zealand, which even had destinations in te reo Māori for its daily Grabaseat promotion and a wide range of newspapers and radio and television stations. The Māori Language Awards will take place as part of a Māori Language Expo on 16 October in Porirua. It’s not too late to enter your Māori Language Week activity for the awards – closing date for entries is 10 August.

Other talking points in Māori Language Week were the Wellington City’s Council’s Māori language banners all over the city, the use of Māori place names and phrases on TVNZ’s weather forecasts, the Stuff website Māori language quiz, the New Zealand Herald’s first ever editorial in te reo Māori, the launch of a new Māori language text translation application for i-Phones, a free te reo Māori language pack by Microsoft NZ for Windows Vista users, and Māori Televion’s m. Māori initiative that enables people to download fun Māori audio phrases to their mobile phone.

This followed a survey which found that many agencies’ websites had little or no Maori content. Hamilton City Council was one of those that responded with a new look website that will henceforth include a Māori translation of Mayor Bob Simcock’s monthly message and a summary in te reo of the Council’s activities.

Congratulations also to the Legal Services Agency, which has provided links to a wider variety of law-related information in te reo on its Law Access website for Māori Language Week and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, which has a bilingual website. Other government agencies have also indicated they will revisit the issue. Besides te reo Māori being an official language of New Zealand, it is worth noting that there are more than 150,000 Māori language speakers in New Zealand, nearly 30,000 children are in Māori medium education and nearly 20,000 students are learning Māori as a subject in our schools. Government websites can be a useful resource in language learning and maintenance – thus, in line with government policy, extending the domains in which the language is used.

The awards are organised by InternetNZ, in collaboraton with auDA (the Australian domain name administrator. The diversity category acknowledges online initiatives encouraging expressions of cultural diversity and identity, with an emphasis on the promotion of multilingualism and indigenous cultures. InternetNZ is particularly interested in initiatives that

• assist in the translation of web content into other languages
• facilitate access for people with disability or people who are not literate
• promote cultural diversity
• deliver multilingual content to relevant communites
• assist expressions of culture and identity through multilingual or local language content

Other award categories acknowledge significant contributions to the security, openness and accessibility of the Internet. The award winners will be announced in October and promoted at the next meeting of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt in November. Interested organisations and individuals are able to submit their nominations until August 31.

For more information about the awards visit the Best Practice Awards website.

It is a joint project between Auckland City Libraries and New Zealand Chinese Association Auckland Inc. The website contains a range of interesting content, from upcoming events in the Chinese community and Chinese language books at the city library to family stories and photos, and historical information, such as Sir George Grey’s 1888 address on ‘the Chinese question’. Kai Luey,Chair of the New Zealand Chinese Association Auckland Inc., states that the landmark project is “one which will ensure Chinese New Zealand stories are kept alive forever.” Auckland City Libraries is holding a series of 17 workshops around the region to educate people on how to use the site and upload information. Check out the Chinese Digital Community website.

They wrote their stories on the topic of ‘A Special Event’ after attending the First Voice workshops held in May at the Palmerston North City Library. They listened to Dr Ute Walker from Massey University talk about the value of being able to speak and write in more than one language. They were then paired with language mentors from the Palmerston North Ethnic Centre and the Massey University International Students’ Centre who proofed their work. The students wrote about special events as different as the Rocket Festival in Lao, East New Britain Day in Papua New Guinea and Chu-seok in Korea.

Among the 19 languages included in this year’s publication were Afrikaans, Pidgin English, Hebrew, Lao, Bahasa Indonesian, Tagalog and Pashto. Barb Drake, who has managed the First Voice initiative at the school since 2000, told of how being involved in the project brings students together who speak the same language: “…this often becomes a link for friendship and support not only to the students but to their families as well…(and) for supporting future students to the school who speak that language.” She also told of a new Chinese student on her first day of school in New Zealand, who read a story another student had written in Mandarin of his first day at school in the country: “It was absolutely fantastic to see a smile emerge and her body relax as she read of someone else who had had similar experiences to her.”

It is now the 10^th anniversary of First Voice: A Celebration of Writing. The release of the book is followed each year by an assembly held to celebrate cultural diversity.

There are forums on diversity in employment, health, education, sport, museums, local government, libraries and on topical issues like international student safety, racial discrimination, religion in schools, refugee and migrant settlement, immigration policy, the Treaty and human rights, international accountability for race relations, language policy, diversity research, and Asian communities in New Zealand. You can view the details of the programme and register online for one or more forums and events.

The lack of resources targeted at primary school aged children addressing issues of importance to them was a catalyst in creating the booklets, which are aimed at 5-12 year-olds and relevant to the West Coast. Around 30 students, from Years 6-8 worked together in small groups, producing all the artworks themselves. The text that students have written has not been edited, as the message is one from a child to another child. The laminated and spiral bound booklets contain information on topics such as a map of the West Coast, facts about the West Coast, including towns, populations, rivers, and mountains, things to do and see on the West Coast, holidays and events in New Zealand and what school in New Zealand is like. The project was organised in conjunction with the West Coast Migrant Services Project, the Immigration Service and Development West Coast. A celebration and handover of the booklet took place on July 30.

This is what some of the students had to say about the project:

• The cool thing about doing these books is we learnt a lot more about the West Coast even though I have lived here for a long time it extended my knowledge.
• I learnt that it can get really frustrating when you have to do things again and again to get it right for the person who gave the brief – we had to work and encourage each other to get over the rough patches.
• For me as a group leader the hardest thing about creating the book was getting the group to agree, stay on task and do their best – it was stressful being the boss!
• It was an awesome experience doing the book – just like putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and trying to see things the way they would.
• I know that all our effort is going to reflect in a positive way , helping the children from all over the world who come to the West Coast.

I learnt that working for someone else and trying to manage other people can be stressful but I enjoyed it as I know we were successful in the end and that our book is awesome.

The exhibition gives the history of World War II and the Holocaust through Anne Frank’s life story, and the diary the teenager kept for two years while hiding from the Nazis before being betrayed and sent to concentration camps and death in Germany. It charts the history of her family in the context of events starting with the end of World War I and the rise of Nazism. The exhibition, which has toured 150 countries, will be adapted for New Zealand and include interviews with New Zealand Holocaust survivors. It will open at Te Papa in February 2010 and then travel to other centres around New Zealand over the next two years.

It will take place at St John’s Conference Centre in Wellington (corner of Willis and Dixon Streets). The festival will kick off from 11am and will incorporate a range of entertainment- including song, dance and folk art. Arts and craft workshops and activities are planned, with a Matryoshka painting workshop, face painting, caricature painting, decorative painting on wood (patrikvka style), and hair plaiting all on the programme, as well as Ukrainian food and crafts for sale.

Other cultural events on the weekend of the Diversity Forum include the bi-ennial dance fusion event Viva Eklectica in Auckland on Saturday evening, and the Wellington Ethnic Council’s Multicultural Festival at the Wellington Town Hall on Sunday. There will also be world music from the Aotearoa International All-Stars Band at Te Papa, folk music at the Museum of Wellington, the Migrating Kitchen Exhibition at Pataka Museum and a multicultural evening with host Pio Terei at Te Papa from 6.00 pm on Sunday.

They tell the stories of primary school children who have recently settled in New Plymouth from countries as diverse as the United Kingdom, India, Fiji, South Africa, Mauritius and China. The stories are based on interviews with the children in which they talked about where they were born, the countries they came from, the people and places they left behind and their family, friends and favorite foods. The booklets include photographs from the children’s home countries. Settlement Support New Plymouth received a grant from the Lotteries Board to produce the books, with the aim of encouraging migrant children to talk about their experience of settling in Taranaki and helping local children to understand that their peers often have a very different background to their own. The booklets will be launched on August 13 and gifted to every library and primary school in New Plymouth: contact Settlement Support New Plymouth for details.

• Join the New Zealand Diversity Forum page on Facebook, and add yourself to the Facebook Event.
• Follow @nzdiversity on Twitter.
• Or, simply complete one of the registration forms on the Human Rights Commission website

So join us, get involved, and share with your friends and networks.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

Registration Options

There are a number of ways to signup to attend the Diversity Forum. Add yourself to any, or all, of the following…

• Fill out an online application form on the Human Rights Commission website
• Join the New Zealand Diversity Forum social networking page on Facebook, and add yourself to the Facebook Event.
• Follow @nzdiversity on Twitter

Join us, get involved, and share with your friends and networks.

The conference was part of ongoing work, led by the Office of Ethnic Affairs, to promote the positive integration of young Muslim New Zealanders in wider society. Over two days the young people participated in lectures, workshops and interactive sessions. Activities were based on the nature and realities of leadership in a multicultural environment, and encouraged participants to take a proactive approach toward their communities. The Islamic Studies Research was previously the Network for Islamic Studies includes staff and students whose research and teaching intersect with the study of Islam (e.g., History, Philosophy, Theology, etc), with the intent of pursuing academic research along with developing a community outreach programme.

Events continue throughout the month of June with school kite-flying, stargazing, a film festival and a fashion show on successive Wednesdays. This is the third year of the festival, which arose out of the Whanganui Iwi Exhibition ‘Te Awa Tupua’ at Te Papa. At the close of the exhibition the stakeholders group, including Iwi, Wanganui District Council, Horizons Regional Council, Whanganui River Māori Trust Board, Whanganui Māori Regional Tourism Organisation and the Whanganui Arts, Culture and Heritage Development Trust decided to stay active in the promotion and development of Māori culture activities in the Whanganui Region. The focus decided on was the development of Puanga/Matariki as an annual cultural festival for all people in the Whanganui Region. Today the Whanganui Regional Māori Tourism Organisation umbrellas the event in collaboration with the stakeholder group. The Matariki festival continues to grow nationally, and a full programme of events around the country is available at Matariki Events.

Topics include media and cultural identity, finding the ethnic voice on mainstream channels, reaching ethnic audiences, drama in black, white and colour, and ‘Screen and Heard’ – the NZ broadcast media scene in 2020, with speakers and panellists from the BBC, Australia’s SBS, New Zealand’s major broadcasters and writers and producers.

The Minister of Pacific Island Affairs renewed the Government’s commitment to the development of a Pacific Languages Strategy. It was noted that the Samoan community is the fourth largest ethnic community and the Samoan language is the third most commonly spoken language in New Zealand. Although thirty secondary schools now teach Samoan to 2,300 students, there are only 220 secondary students learning Tongan, 117 Cook Island Māori, and 80 Niuean.

Porirua College, which is the only secondary school in New Zealand (and the world) to require all students to learn Māori or a Pacific language, marked Samoan Language Week with a full week of activities and a final celebration of all Pacific languages with speeches and cultural performances for the whole school on Friday 29 May. Samoan students also took part with students from eight other secondary schools in the Wellington regional launch of the week at St Patrick’s College, attended by the Samoan High Commissioner, the Minister of Pacific Island Affairs Georgina Te Heuheu and former Minister Luamanuvao Winnie Laban. Samoan Language Week was promoted by FAGASA, the Association of Samoan Language Teachers, the Human Rights Commission and other partners.

They will be released at various dates, and will cover Nga mahi-arehia (Leisure and sports); Nga Toi Taonga Puoro (Māori arts); Te nohotahi o te whanau (Te reo focusing on the home, whanau and leisure); and Kaitiakitanga- Guarding the Land. They include notes for teachers with curriculum links, extra information and activities, and target education strands, such as language and cultural knowledge, identity, and communication. This year’s Māori Language Week runs from 27 July to 2 August and is on the theme of Māori in the Community: Te Reo i te Hapori. Another booklet in the popular Māori Language Week series, plus balloons, tattoos, bumper stickers and T-Shirts can be ordered online from Korero Māori.

The Centre notes that Holocaust Education teaches tolerance, respect for human dignity, and the value of every life, regardless of race, religion, cultural and ethnic diversity and has applications in the subjects of history, social science, art, politics, justice, and citizenship education. Participants were also given a copy of the Handbook for Teachers produced by the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education Remembrance and Research. Initiated by Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson in 1998, the Task Force currently has twenty-six member countries: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The Napier telegraphist who allegedly released the cable to the media was fired by the Post Office. Malcolm Mulholland tells this and many other stories of the impact of the rugby relationship between New Zealand and South Africa on Māori players. He has since floated the idea of some gesture by the Rugby Union to symbolically acknowledge the denial of All Black selection for tours to South Africa of rugby greats like George Nepia, perhaps in time for the centenary of the Māori Rugby Team in 2010. Beneath the Māori Moon, published by Huia, is a very readable and liberally illustrated account of the achievement of many individuals and teams and an important contribution to our social history.

It highlights some of the complex diversity issues across the Asia-Pacific region, and unpacks and focuses on the place and role of the media in facilitating diversity. Topics include ‘culture clash’ faced by Western journalists and foreign correspondents entering the Pacific region; diversity reporting in Aotearoa and the rise of ‘ethnic media’; and a review of the controversy over last year’s media report that Pacific peoples were a ‘drain on the New Zealand economy’.

The feature article is written by an ‘insider’ of the military regime in Fiji and examines censorship and its impact on freedom of expression in Fiji. Managing Editor and AUT University Associate Professor David Robie notes that “this edition provides some challenging and fresh insights into diversity reporting in New Zealand, from Fiji to Asian stereotypes… but it also celebrates some important achievements.”

In 2003 the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) commissioned a study on broadcasters’ coverage of the foreshore and seabed issue. The study concluded that, for the most part, the relevant broadcasting standards of fairness, balance and accuracy had been met, but questioned whether the standards protected Māori given the dominance of Western values in New Zealand society: “The broadcasting standards at present are ‘one size’, and as such do not take account of existing unequal power relations in New Zealand or Māori cultural values.”

Based on this finding, and in response to the divergent viewpoints that have arisen in subsequent discussions, the BSA has published ‘Māori Worldviews and Broadcasting Standards’ to promote further discussion of the appropriate relationship between broadcasting standards and Māori interests, noting that this is relevant to other visible minority groups- including Pacific Island and Asian New Zealanders. The paper also discusses issues such as public interest, freedom of expression, and the BSA’s current lack of mandate to promote Māori culture and worldviews. The discussion paper can be downloaded from the BSA website.

Customers using these handsets on Telecom’s new XT Mobile Network will be able to type a word in Māori in a text message, and it will be instantly recognised by the phone in the same way that English words are. Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori was consulted regarding word selection. Common greetings, days of the week, months of the year, the numbers one to ten, and popular New Zealand place names are among those that feature in the predictive text function. As well as a te reo Māori ‘spoken voice dialling’ service, the handset will also incorporate Chinese language in this feature.

They have now established a website which provides recipe collections from the countries that were part of the exhibition, with background information on those countries and ‘table talk’ resources to be used in schools. There is also video footage taken from the exhibition and a page of enthusiastic feedback that emphasises the role that interactive exhibitions such as these have in raising awareness and support for diversity in the community: “It helps us appreciate and understand the rich multicultural world we live in and should promote international understanding and peace…” It also previews a second Migrating Kitchen Exhibition in August/September of this year, which will showcase the Afghan, Chilean, Cook Island, Italian, Indian and Zimbabwean communities. The Migrating Kitchen website is well worth a visit.

The book analyses “how two very different marginalised groups in New Zealand society have interacted over the last 150 years and explores the relationship between the tangata whenua and the country’s earliest and largest non-European immigrant group.” As Professor Ip told Maori Television’s Te Kaea, she hoped to “help people understand the long history between the two peoples” and to enable new settlers to realise those historical ties between Māori and Asian peoples.” Similarly, the author believes the analysis portrays a further dimension of Aotearoa’s history: highlighting a richer and more complex social fabric of Aotearoa.

The organisation’s annual conference is being held in Auckland from May 15-17 and the focus will be on the benefits that migrants and refugees bring to Aotearoa. Keynote speakers include English economist and writer Philippe Legrain on ‘Immigrants- your country needs them’ and Professor Paul Spoonley on ‘Transforming Aotearoa: Immigration trends and issues in the 21^st century’. Philippe Legrain is the author of Immigrants: Your Country Need Them, and has worked as a journalist at The Economist and as a special adviser to Director-General Mike Moore at the World Trade Organisation, and is a regular writer on migration issues. He is touring New Zealand in the next two weeks as well as speaking at the conference.

Rotary club members have undertaken roles as conversation tutors, job interview tutors, visiting lecturers, job search mentors, workplace hosts, and helped to locate 6-week internships for migrants. The programme has been very successful, with a high proportion of the graduates from the Skilled Migrant Programme now being practising professionals.

This year it is reaching out to the wider community, working in partnership with the Fono Faufautua Aoao a Samoa i Aotearoa (FFASA)- the National Samoan Advisory Council in Aotearoa, the Human Rights Commission, Television New Zealand’s Tagata Pasifika, the Pacific Media Network, and Va’aomanū Pasifika at Victoria University. There are over 130,000 Samoan New Zealanders. The Samoan community is the fourth largest ethnic community after NZ Europeans (2,381,000), Māori (565,000), and Chinese (147,000). The Samoan language is the third most commonly spoken language in New Zealand after English and Māori.

Families, early childhood centres, schools and tertiary education institutions, government departments, city councils, employers and unions, media, churches and community groups (and yes, supermarkets and bus companies) are all encouraged to undertake activities in support of Samoan Language Week. The week is an opportunity to celebrate the Samoan language in New Zealand, to recognise the language and culture of Samoan New Zealanders, to build bridges between cultures and to ensure that the language continues to be used widely in New Zealand. The Samoan Language Week website provides some basic vocabulary you can use.

The initiative was supported by 20 landowners and walked by more than 80 people, who raised over $11,500 for the hospice. Starting at the Hare Krishna temple, pilgrims traveled overland to Dairy Flat. On their second day they continued north to Wainui and enjoyed a long lunch at the Tibetan Buddhist temple, home to the largest statue of the Buddha in the Southern Hemisphere. On Easter Sunday, pilgrims began their day with a service in the tiny historic Wainui church and ended their pilgrimage at the church of Saint Peter & Paul in Puhoi.

Performances included the ‘samulnori’, a traditional dance performed at farmers festivals to symbolise the union of heaven and earth, and to wish for a year of abundance. Prime Minister John Key was the guest of honour and reiterated the close ties between Korea and New Zealand, and noted that Korean students make up the second largest international student population in New Zealand. At the 2006 Census, 31,000 New Zealanders identified as Korean, making them the third largest Asian ethnic group after Chinese and Indians.

Students and families participated in a wide range of classes and events centred on learning and interacting with different cultures. From a ‘learn to’ programme of music, dance, cultural dress, and chopsticks to an Inter-house Samoan cricket Kilikiti competition and an International Food Festival, students were able to experience many different elements of cultures other than their own; families were involved in activities such as inviting someone from a different culture to dinner at home. The highly successful week culminated in a cultural mufti-day fundraiser for a school in Gaza.

Their composition was in the true spirit of of this year’s ‘People in your Neighourhood’ theme:

“Hello, come on in, I don’t care about the colour of your skin.

It doesn’t matter where you came from

or how you speak,

We can still play with each other down our street.

I want to try your food,

And you can come to my barbeque.

I don’t care how you pray,

You can come to my house to play.

You can come to play with my toys,

It doesn’t matter if you’re a girl or a boy.

You can be my friend,

And then the world we will mend.”

Download ‘Kia ora Neighbour’

The Communal English Discussion Group at the Anglican Friendship Centre is designed to meet the needs of older members of the Bhutanese and Burmese refugee communities living in Palmerston North.

Younger members of their families were engaging with English speakers on a regular basis, but the older people’s English language was not developing as fast as the rest of their families, despite weekly visits from English Language Partners (ESOL) home tutors. So the Department of Internal Affairs arranged for some of the older people to attend morning activities at the Anglican Friendship Centre to provide greater interaction. English Language Partners then provided a tutor to go to the Friendship Centre once a week for a Communal English Discussion Group; the Friendship Centre transports the students to the class; and Refugee Services informs older refugees about the programme.