Another testimony that Christchurch is becoming more diverse, accommodating and accepting was provided last weekend when the second Canterbury Eid Festival was organised by the Christchurch-based non-profit Nawawi Centre on September 18.
Unscrupulous education advisers engaging in education trafficking: Philippine Ambassador to New Zealand
The Philippine Ambassador to New Zealand Jesus S Domingo, who has completed almost half-a-year in this country, and is known for his hands-on approach in dealing with issues, was in Christchurch recently to interact with local Filipino leaders including Delia Richards of the Philippine Culture and Sports.
Christchurch: New app to help voters in local elections
Shortlisting your local election candidates just got easier, thanks to a new digital app from Christchurch City Council.
Politics: NZ's first immigration political party launched
Roshan Nauhria, a successful Kiwi-Indian businessman, who in the past has donated to political parties across spectrum and is also the member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, has recently launched the first political party in the country dedicated to immigrants.
Libraries: 40 years of the Special Needs Library in Chch
Christchurch Special Needs Library is a lending resource, which provides over 3,500 educational and therapeutic resources for enriching learning experiences and promote development of people – both adults and children - with special needs - intellectual, physical, sensory, emotional, behavioural or social - in the community.
English Corner: Shrink, Shrank, Shrunk – know your verbs
It’s well known that if you want to learn French or Italian you have to memorise many different forms of the verb, while in English, regular verbs have only four forms: walk, walks, walked, walking. The stem (the part that you add things to) remains the same.
Family: Overhaul of family violence laws
The John Key led National Government has announced an overhaul of New Zealand’s family violence laws which will see more support for victims and new offences introduced.
Consumers: Recalls.govt.nz a hit
The government’s new first-stop-shop product recall website has been embraced by consumers, claimed Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith recently. The site www.recalls.govt.nz went live in March this year. Since then 125 products have been recalled, and over 28,000 people have used the site to search, subscribe and keep safe by knowing which products may pose a safety risk, the Minister added.
Protest: "March for Democracy" in Christchurch
Hundreds of protesters from a range of civil society organisations including NZ Council of Trade Unions (CTU), Public Services Association (PSA), FIRST Union, Greenpeace, 350.org, Oxfam New Zealand, SAFE for Animals and It’s Our Future, came out on the Riccarton Road in Christchurch on September 10, for what they called “a Day of Action that will affirm our democratic rights and support initiatives to build a fairer and more sustainable society”.
Migrants: Understanding the Kiwi workplace
The Kiwi workplace is unique. From the distinctive language and communication style through to the relaxed informality with the boss, the workplace environment in New Zealand can be very different from what many new migrants have experienced before.
The Canterbury Community Gardens welcomes all
This is how the Association describes itself, "The Canterbury Community Gardens Association is a networking organisation for community gardens, promoting the growth of new and existing initiatives. CCGA is a group of community gardeners and supportive individuals who are working together to promote and strengthen community garden initiatives in Christchurch."
Review: Going Places: Migration, Economics and the Future of New Zealand
Sir Paul Callaghan, a world renowned scientist and 2011 New Zealander of the Year, maintained that New Zealand should aim for an economy based on science, technology and innovation. He talked of New Zealand as a place ‘where talent wants to live’. While New Zealand has plenty of jobs in the service industry, especially in hospitality, these are low wage jobs and will not lift our economy. Sir Paul died in 2012 but the authors of this book echo his views and suggest the future economy of New Zealand would benefit from encouraging the right kind of immigrants.
Food: Don't waste, New Zealand!
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.
Celebrations: Spring fest by the Fiji Association
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.
Nation: Taxi drivers protest against Uber, again
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.
Celebrations: Mid-autumn and the 67th anniversary of the founding of China celebrated
"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.
Screening: Get up to date this Cervical Screening Awareness Month
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.
Labour exploitation in NZ
Allegations of migrant exploitation against Sistema; Research: Migrant issues brought to light by Caritas
Know your candidates for Christchurch City Council 2016 Triennial Elections
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]
Green Party should and will engage more with ethnic communities: Denise Roche
The MP who was in Christchurch recently, after listening to community leaders about migrant issues, also noted that her Party’s immigration policy needs to be updated soon