All in News
The history of Love Food Hate Waste Campaign began in 2007 in the UK, and it is being run currently in Victoria, New South Wales and Vancouver as well. In New Zealand, the three-year-long Campaign began in June 1, 2016, with 59 councils and community groups joining hands with WasteMINZ, which is a membership-based organisation with over 1,000 members from waste, resource recovery and contaminated land sectors in the country.
The Christchurch Fiji Association – an organisation formed in 2002 to initiate, promote, support and maintain cultural, religious and educational needs of the Fiji and Pacific migrants and their children – organised it's annual Spring Dhamaka on September 10.
A group of over 50 taxi drivers, belonging to all major taxi companies in the city - including Blue Star and Gold Band, organised a two-hour protest in Christchurch on September 5, against what they called government's "inadequate action" on dealing with Uber. It was the part of nationwide action taken by taxi drivers against the billion-dollar multi-national, with similar protests taking place in Auckland and Wellington – just outside the Parliament.
"One of the most important traditional Chinese festivals, the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, around the time of the autumn equinox (usually September 22). As the full bright moon on that night tends to inspire people's anticipation for a family reunion, it is also called "Festival of Reunion."Moon cakes and watermelons (cut into the shape of a lotus) are indispensable for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Young girls and women are being encouraged to get up to date with their HPV immunisation and cervical smears this Cervical Screening Awareness Month. “We know that cervical cancer is one the most preventable cancers, and being immunised against HPV as a young women and having regular smears as an adult helps reduce the risk of developing cervical cancer by around 90 per cent,” Clinical Director of the National Screening Unit, Dr Jane O’Hallahan says.
Allegations of migrant exploitation against Sistema; Research: Migrant issues brought to light by Caritas
As part of our continuous coverage of the Christchurch City Council 2016 Triennial Elections, we have published a short biography, the vision and picture of all the candidates for the Council and Community Board seats in our latest issue i.e. Issue 7, September 7 - September 20, 2016. [almost all as some replies were still awaited at the time of publishing]
The need for local government is the basic recognition of the fact that not all communities are the same, nor do they have the same issues. Thus, while Parliament is elected to deal with issues relevant to New Zealand and its people as a nation, local government enables democratic decision-making by and for local communities. It makes decisions about local issues and services, having regard to local needs and priorities.
A new book co-edited by University of Canterbury Lecturer in Japanese Dr Masayoshi Ogino gives unprecedented insight into issues and strategies around Japanese language learning and teaching in New Zealand at tertiary level. Creating New Synergies: Approaches of Tertiary Japanese Programmes in New Zealand is the first book to be published on Japanese language teaching in New Zealand universities and tertiary institutions.
Today we start a campaign that's about us. In fact, we're calling it That's Us because it's about the kind of people we want to be, as well as the kind of country we want our kids growing up in. That's Us is our first nationwide, anti-racism campaign that asks Kiwis to start sharing our own stories about racism, intolerance and hatred: but to also share our hopes for the future.
The Canterbury Nepalese Society (CNS) organised it's annual Hindu festival of Teej Sanjha 2073 on September 2, which was attended by over 200 Nepalese families living in Christchurch. The Bhutanese Society of Christchurch (BSC), which organised its own Teej festival on September 3, had also organised the first-ever Bhutanese Nite [Bhutani Sanjh] in Christchurch recently. Held at Elmwood School Auditorium, the Nite was attended by over 300 Bhutanese living in the Garden City. (picture courtesy: BSC)
The Canterbury Indonesian Society celebrated the 71st Indonesian Independence Day in Christchurch, which also saw participation from the wider community, on August 28. Elyana Thenu, President of CIS, who came to New Zealand 20 years back, noted, “While the Indonesian community is not very large in Christchurch, and mainly consists of students studying in various universities, it's important that the community gets together on such occasions to remind ourselves of the great sacrifices the previous generations have made so that we can enjoy the fruits of freedom.” The event also saw performance of Indang dance from West Sumatra and Cerana dance from Timor East. There were competitions of traditional games too including the Indonesian favourite - tug of war.
We have an issue in New Zealand right now about immigration. Debates about immigration can easily turn into ones about race, religion and culture. That’s wrong and people who do that are rightly labelled racist or xenophobic. But we have to be able to have a sensible debate about how to respond to a rapidly growing population in a country that is struggling to keep up. We need to talk about how our immigration system works best for New Zealand and for the people who choose to work and settle here.
The small but vibrant Singaporean community in Christchurch celebrated the 51st Singapore National Day on August 12 at Chateau on the Park, with Lianne Dalziel, Mayor of Christchurch, and Ang Seow Wei, Deputy High Commissioner at High Commission of Singapore in New Zealand, in attendance.
The growing Indian community in Canterbury celebrated the Indian Independence Day, which falls on August 15, with full patriotic vigour, home-sick emotions, and festive moods, spread across that weekend.
The Garden City was treated to some fantastic latino music, food, and vibrant colourful hispanic culture at the Winter Night and Latino Market held in the Arts Centre of Christchurch on August 20.
The Zimbabwean Canterbury Association (ZCA) and New Zealand AIDS Foundation joined hands to celebrate the Zimbabwe Heroes' Day in Christchurch on August 20. There was lots of Zimbabwean food and music, as well as speeches by community leaders and representatives from the African Council. Simon Mutonhori, President of ZCA, informed that the community has been celebrating the Day ever since their Association was formed in 2003.
A Committee made up of local residents and businesses, chaired by Councillor and Selwyn Central Community Board Chair Jeff Bland, is planning the 150th celebrations. The theme of the celebrations will be ‘Rolleston – New Zealand’s Youngest Old Town’ reflecting Rolleston’s history but also its recent growth with the population increasing from 1971 in 2000 to around 14,000 today.
The Christchurch Educated Skills Scholarship programme is supported by Education New Zealand, the Canterbury Development Corporation, and the economic development agency of the Christchurch City Council.
A new study has revealed that “changes in immigration policy, which can impact only on visa-controlled immigration, are unlikely to have much impact on the housing market”.
