Office of Ethnic Communities Update Flourishing ethnic diversity; thriving New Zealand What's been happeningThe Office of Ethnic Communities is government's authoritative advisor on ethnic diversity in New Zealand. Our purpose is that Ethnic Communities are strong and the benefits of ethnic diversity for New Zealand are realised. Minister's updateYesterday was ANZAC Day and, as I do every year, I joined veterans and members of the public at the dawn service in Papakura and other services throughout the day, to acknowledge and honour the courage and sacrifice of all those who bravely served our nation at Gallipoli and in subsequent conflicts. General Manager's updateWelcome to the April edition of our monthly newsletter. As some of you may know, Maarten Quivooy’s secondment recently concluded and he has returned to his substantive position. An announcement on the Office’s new Director will be made soon. But as an interim measure I am honoured to hold the acting Director position until a permanent appointment is in place. African Film FestivalThe Office of Ethnic Communities is proud to have partially sponsored the 2017 African Film Festival through our Ethnic Communities Development Fund. Save the date - EPIC NZ Conference is comingThe EPIC NZ (Ethnic People in Commerce in New Zealand) Conference is coming. Save the date - Friday 30th June 2017, SKYCITY Convention Centre, Auckland. This year's theme: The New Zealand business story - best practice: better business He Tohu and Women's Suffrage PetitionYou are warmly invited to attend a briefing on He Tohu, the exhibition of constitutional documents that shape our nation, including the Women’s Suffrage Petition. Philippa Doyle of the Department of Internal Affairs will be joined by National Council of Women of New Zealand Vice President, Vanisa Dhiru. A focus on the smaller communitiesThe Office of Ethnic Communities has had a long-standing relationship with many ethnic communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. With over 200 distinct ethnicities and a population of half a million ethnic people (and growing) we are always seeking to engage with as many different communities as possible. In 2017 we initiated a pilot project to expand our engagement with ‘smaller’ ethnic communities (representing populations of under 10,000) to explore ways to build sustained and on-going engagement. Come build an appMulticultural New Zealand is seeking your assistance in finding youth leaders and people working with youth in the Mt Roskill region. 'Walk in' - Foundation NorthFoundation North will be hosting 'walk in' sessions in Auckland. Over the next three months they will be taking to the streets of Glen Innes, Mt Roskill and Pukekohe in Auckland. Recent Publications and StatisticsIn February 2017, the independent review report by Baroness McGregor-Smith on Race in the [British] Workplace was published. The Ministry of Women has also recently published a report on gender disparities in the workplace which received significant media attention. Migrant arrivals in New Zealand ... a new record. He Tohu – The Treaty of Waitangi and the 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition have movedOur most iconic constitutional documents were moved in the early hours of Saturday morning (22 April) in an emotional and uplifting atmosphere. At 4am a pūtātara heralded the start of the journey from Archives New Zealand to their new home at the National Library in Wellington Race Relations DayOn 23 April, we attended the Race Relations Day celebration event in Wellington organised by the New Zealand Federation of Multicultural Councils (Multicultural New Zealand), in partnership with Multicultural Council of Wellington and the Human Rights Commission. Would you like to subscribe?Keep up to date with our projects and ethnic diversity issues by subscribing to our contact list. You will receive details about stories, events and community news by email. This includes our monthly newsletter the OEC Update. |