Positive Contributions to Race Relations November 2004
Te Kahui Tika Tangata/ On the Bright Side
November/Whiringa-à-rangi 2004
Kia ora. Anei te mihi ö te Kaihautu Whakawhanaunga ä Iwi, mo ngä mahi nui, mahi whakamana i te tangata i roto i ngä
kaupapa Whakawhanaunga ä Iwi i Aotearoa. Here are this month's acknowledgments from the Race Relations Commissioner for
positive contributions to race relations in New Zealand.
MC Dasha and the HK Crew
For Meri Kirihimete, the first Christmas Album in Te Reo Maori. Band members from Fat Freddys Drop, Wai and Maia have
been brought together as the H.K. Crew by producer MC Dasha to create what is claimed to be the first ever album of
Christmas songs to be recorded in Te Reo Maori. It features popular favourites like Jingle Bells, Santa Claus is Coming
to Town, Silent Night, Mary's Boy Child and I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas.
It makes you wonder why it's taken this long, but with increasingly positive public attitudes to the use of Te Reo it
should get some good airtime over the next few weeks. And speaking of Christmas, the use of Christmas greetings in Te
Reo Maori and other languages continues to grow. One of many to join the trend is the Wellington NZ Samoan and Chinese
law firm, Rasch and Leong, who have gone the extra step of adopting a bilingual motto, "Successfully helping you, Angitu
ana te awhina i a koe", for their business. Suggestions for Christmas greetings can be found at www.nzreo.org.nz.
ANZ Bank Ltd
For portraying New Zealand's diversity in the "Getting To Know You" television commercial. ANZ's current TV commercial
portrays the diversity of their staff and the diversity of New Zealanders in a positive manner, which can only be good
for race relations. The advertisement did not set out to be a promotion of diversity, but in showcasing the bank's own
staff it has that effect. The phrase, "We all wear the same uniform, but we're anything but uniform", with the
accompanying graphics, captures the essence of what unites and differentiates us in our diversity as New Zealanders.
Auckland Theatre Company
For A Christmas Carol, November-December 2004. Jennifer Ward-Lealand's production of David Armstrong's new take on
Charles Dickens' Christmas story has a laptop toting free-marketeering Kiwi Ebenezer Scrooge haunted by some very New
Zealand ghosts of Christmas past. The first ghost, played by Hori Ahipene, uses more than a sprinkling of te reo, and
Ghost No 2 is a Samoan cleaner with silver lavalava and glitter duster-wand. Jackie Clarke, who plays Lorraine Cratchit,
says of Scrooge: "He's like an awful talkback person who says all those terrible things that maybe, for a minute, you
think yourself, but probably won't say out loud. But when you see the glimpses of Scrooge's past you realise that he
wasn't always like that, he's hardened up. But the more of those little glimpses he has of when he used to care, that's
what keeps you hooked. A Christmas Carol, which in the true tradition of Christmas pantomime has plenty of double
entendre for the adults and spectacle for the kids continues at Auckland's Sky City theatre till mid-December. Visit
www.atc.co.nz for details.
New Zealand Netherlands Society
For the St Nicholas Day Festival, Auckland, December 2004. Santa (Sinterklaas) comes early for the Dutch, and this year
it will be an occasion for the wider community. The Auckland War Memorial Museum and the New Zealand Netherlands Society
are holding a Living Treasures Day for the Festival of St Nicholas in the Auckland Museum on Sunday 5 December 2004 from
10:00am to 5:00pm. This will be a day of cultural activities to celebrate the Festival of St Nicholas with the Dutch
community with lectures, children's stories, puppet plays, crafts, arts, and performances by the Auckland Dutch Dancers
and Dutch choir. There will also a visit by St Nick and his helpers (en route from Spain to Holland) at 2:30pm followed
by a children's party.
Asian Students Association and UNITEC Students Association, Auckland
For the "Goodbye Racism" Unitec Culture Unity Day, November 2004. Following a controversy over the publication in
Unitec's student paper of a poem which deeply offended many staff and students because of its racist content, the Asian
Students Association and the UNITEC Students Association, in association with the UNITEC administration and staff,
organised a "Goodbye Racism" forum. Its purpose was to demonstrate that Unitec values and honours the diversity of its
students. The forum was packed out with some 350 students and staff in attendance. Along with some external speakers,
students from a wide variety of ethnicities - Pakeha, Maori, Pasifika, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Indian, gave their
perspectives, and there were Maori, Pasifika and Asian cultural performances. It was an opportunity to declare their
rejection of racism in any form, and further events are planned for the future.
Wellington District, NZ Police
For a commitment to strengthening relationships with Wellington's ethnic communities. The desecration of Jewish
cemeteries and the hate letters to a number of Muslims in Wellington, which shocked New Zealanders earlier this year,
have had the opposite effect to what their perpetrators intended, if a meeting at Wellington's Kilbirnie mosque on 18
November is anything to go by. Here representatives of the Jewish and Muslim communities met with the Wellington police
and heard of the steps taken by police which have resulted in an arrest in the case of the hate letters. Community
representatives spoke of the way the two incidents had brought them together and strengthened their relationships, and
the police expressed commitments to strengthening their links with ethnic communities.
The press releases announcing the arrest were produced in Somali and Arabic as well as English, a first in police public
relations. "The clear message to come from this investigation", said Detective Inspector Harry Quinn, "is that police,
ethnic and faith-based groups can and must work together to overcome incidents of this nature." There was strong support
from both communities for that sentiment.
Korean Cinerama Trust
For the inaugural Korean Film Festival, October 2004. It's been something of a year for film festivals featuring
different countries and regions, including Asia, the Middle East, France and Italy, and now the Korean Festival has made
its debut, reflecting both the growing Korean population in New Zealand and the cultural cooperation between Korea and
New Zealand. A Korean Film, Old Boy, which won this year's Grand Prix at Cannes, was partially filmed in New Zealand.
The Festival screened 11 of Korea's best known feature films at Sky City Theatre, included cultural items in some of the
intervals, and coincided with a visit by a Korean government and film industry delegation to discuss future film
linkages and a joint Korea/New Zealand Film Co-Production Agreement.
Auckland Trade Training Academy
For providing "pathways to construction" for refugee youth. The Auckland Trade Training Academy was established in 2000
as a training provider specialising in pathways to employment in the construction industry for youth at risk. The
Academy initially focused on Maori and Pacific youth, but has recently extended its programme to include migrants and
refugees. In partnership with the Ministry for Social Development and refugee communities as part of the Mt Roskill
Refugee Youth Project, the Academy has included five Ethiopian and Somali young people on its 12 week "Pathways to
Construction" programme, with a view to their moving on to modern apprenticeship positions in the building industry.
They have taken special measures in consultation with community leaders to provide a supportive environment for the
group.
Te Runanga a Iwi o Nga Puhi
For the planned Ngapuhi Festival 2005. The inaugural Ngapuhi Festival will be happening on Auckland and Northland's
Anniversary Weekend, January 29 and 30) at Lindvart Park in Kaikohe. There will be a centre stage for performers,
including Tui music award winner Ruia Aperahama and Hakiwa, an exhibition of Maori art, a shopping series and a waananga
series (see www.ngapuhi.iwi.nz ). Northland is a particular focus for Waitangi commemorations the following weekend, but they will also be taking
place all over the country. The Ngapuhi Festival will complement other huge iwi/community celebrations such as the
well-established Ngati Kahungunu festival in Hawkes Bay and the Porirua City and Manukau City Waitangi Day festivals.
This year's grants from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage Waitangi Day Commemoration Fund give an indication of the
extent of activities, which include events organised by the New Zealand Tamil Society, the New Zealand Sri Lanka
Buddhist Trust, the Waikato Ethnic Council, the Nelson Multi-Ethnic Council and the Ruatoria RSA. A growing list of
events is available at http://www.hrc.co.nz/index.php?p=23980 .
Asia New Zealand Film Foundation Trust
For the Short Film Making Workshop, November 2004. The Asia New Zealand Film Foundation Trust grew out of the inaugural
Asia Film Festival Aotearoa in Auckland this year, and is now embarking on a programme to encourage Asian film-makers to
tell the stories of Asian New Zealanders, as part of their commitment to building bridges between communities and to
enrich the cultural landscape of Aotearoa. The workshop was held on 27 November at the University of Auckland in
partnership with the New Zealand Asia Institute and Creative Communities. The Trust plans a second Asian Film Festival
in April 2005. For further information visit www.anzfft.org.nz.
Wellington Jewish Community
For the What it Means to be Jewish forum, October 2004. As part of the New Zealand Diversity Programme, the Wellington
Jewish community combined on 31 October to present an audience of some 100 Wellingtonians with a panel of ten speakers
on what it means to be Jewish. The panellists ranged from young to old, orthodox to progressive, religious to
non-religious, and together painted a fascinating picture of the diversity of the Jewish community in New Zealand.
Further forums are planned to contribute to greater inter-faith and inter-community understanding.
Claudia Orange
For "An Illustrated History of the Treaty of Waitangi". Claudia Orange's new book brings her history of the Treaty up to
the present day, with lots of key people and events brought to life in pictures. She describes it as, "a short history
and a snapshot taken at a particular moment". Her conclusion is that "the last fifteen to twenty years have brought
significant settlements, far-reaching policy changes, a wider acknowledgment of the Treaty, and greater empowerment for
Maori in decision making processes. From these experiences, a relationship 'akin to a partnership' has begun and can
become a real part of the country's future...It is a responsibility of all governments to work with Maori and Pakeha
towards a vision for the future - one that expresses a full understanding of the nation's founding document and one
based on mutual respect for each others' culture." It's been a bumper year for Treaty information and publications, with
the Treaty of Waitangi website www.treatyofwaitangi.govt.nz and a range of new books focusing on or informing the current public debate.
There have also been Human Rights Commission symposia and community dialogues on human rights and the Treaty (see
www.hrc.co.nz/treaty ) and courses such as those run by the U3A Okeover, the Canterbury WEA, the Kapiti U3A and many others around the
country.
For information about race relations visit the Human Rights Commission website www.hrc.co.nz . Recent additions include information about Waitangi Day events and Race Relations Day on March 21 2005, the New
Zealand Diversity Action Programme and the landmark report, Human Rights in New Zealand Today.
Previous editions can be found at http://www.hrc.co.nz/index.php?p=13789#3.
ENDS