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.
Canterbury was put on the national map this weekend with the successful organisation of the first-ever Indian Women Expo in Christchurch. The six-hour long event, which had 47 stalls divided into nine zones, saw almost 1,000 people attending with several ministers and MPs including Amy Adams, Nicky Wagner, Parmjeet Parmar, and Ruth Dyson.
"Especially here in New Zealand, we are all New Zealanders, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, we see ourselves as part of NZ and NZ is part of us. We are not going to apologise for someone else's misdeeds."
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”.
As part of the World Health Organisation's International Safe City initiative, Nelson City Council, Tasman District Council, the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board, NZ Police, community organisations, government agencies and educational institutions have worked collaboratively to establish New Zealand’s first regional reporting system for racist incidents, Speak Out Nelson Tasman, with the motto “There are no strangers here”.
Organised by the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, the Forum will be held at Wellington's Te Papa Museum with the theme Te Anga Whakamua/ Future Focus 2016. The keynote speaker this time is Australian human rights lawyer and advocate Deng Adut.
Minister for Ethnic Communities Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga has announced the opening of the funding round for the new Ethnic Communities Development Fund. The funding round opened on August 15 and closes on September 27. Any not-for-profit group can apply. It replaces the Settling In Fund and is designed to better support the ongoing needs of ethnic people. The priorities of the fund are to support leadership development, social cohesion and cultural events.
In similar vein to Hellers from Waimakariri [story on page 6], Christchurch-based AuCom Electronics, specialists in fixed speed motor control, which has 110 employees on its role, employs migrants coming from 26 different nationalities.
The population of Waimakariri is changing, with the range of ethnicities and numbers growing as employers have to go further afield to recruit workers. An example is Hellers Ltd in Kaiapoi, which employs 450 people in their state-of-the-art meat processing plant and over 50 are migrant workers.
