Kia ora
Firstly - we wish you all a very Happy New Year 2022! Ngā mihi o te tau hōu pākehā ki a tātou katoa!
We hope you all had a restful holiday season and enjoyed the wonderful weather that we were lucky enough to be blessed with over Christmas and New Year. It feels like a while ago that we were on holiday now, as we had a busy start to the month with our festival planning ramping up, but unfortunately the threat of Omicron, and the move to the Red Alert Level has put a disappointing stop to our plans for these large events.
The Tasman Asian Night Food Fair planned for February 12 and the Multicultural Festival on March 20, have both been cancelled (due to drawing such large crowds they are not feasible under Red), which we know is terribly disappointing for vendors, attendees and participants alike. We hope to plan some smaller events this year to fill the void left by the cancellation of these much-loved and anticipated events.
There is, however, a small glimmer of hope - in the form of the Nelson Tasman Multicultural Football Tournament, which at this stage, is able to be run under the current Covid Protection Framework. You can read more about this further down in the newsletter. We would love to see teams from around the whole Top of the South/Te Tau Ihu take part in this exciting event. It's been 10 years or so since a similar sporting event has been held in our region, with communities keen to see this start up again.
This week we were very happy to attend the launch of the MBIE-funded "Welcoming Communities" initiative, which has been successfully granted to both Nelson City Council and Tasman District Council. Any opportunity to work more collaboratively and in a focused way to create a welcoming community for all newcomers to our region is a reason for celebration.
Despite not being back at school yet, our Multicultural Youth Nelson Tasman (Mynties) have jumped back into their activities with MNT and have already held their first meeting for the year - where they discussed their holidays and looked at their plans for 2022. We were pleased to see our inspiring youth featured in a Nelson Weekly article and photo at the end of last year - which highlighted their work, their new members and their kaupapa around bringing youth from different cultural backgrounds together.
Lastly, with Omicron now active in our community, we would like to reiterate the importance of looking after each other and ourselves. Whether you are vaccinated or unvaccinated, please prepare for what you need to do if you get COVID-19. There is a checklist on https://covid19.govt.nz/prepare-and-stay-safe/ which can help you make a plan, and look after your mental and and physical well-being.
We hope you enjoy reading our updates and we look forward to hearing from you.
Keep in touch with us via Facebook or email to make sure you don't miss what is happening in our multicultural community!
Aroha mai, aroha atu
Love towards us, love going out from us
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| - MULTICULTURAL NELSON TASMAN - |
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Events cancelled for 2022
For any enquiries about refunds for stall/vendor registrations etc, please email admin@multiculturalnt.co.nz
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Multicultural Football Tournament
The universal language of football will bring people of all cultures together during a long-awaited multicultural football tournament to be held at Neale Park over two-days in March.
Planned for the weekend of 19/20 March, the tournament finals on the Sunday will coincide with the Multicultural Festival, which this year will run next door to Neale Park at Founders, from 11am – 4pm.
The event is being organised by representatives from: Nelson City Council, Sport Tasman, Community Action on Youth Alcohol and other Drugs (CAYAD Nelson Tasman), Multicultural Nelson Tasman and Nelson Bays Football.
Teams from across the Top of the South are invited to register for the 11 a-side, 60-minute games, and teams can be compiled in a variety of ways - whether that is by nationality, ethnicity, workplace, mixed social groups – anything goes, but players need to be aged 16 years and older.
Somali-born Ahmed Osman, who plays for FC Nelson said that after coming to New Zealand as a young refugee, football played a huge role as he was growing up, “it helped me integrate as a kid, make new friends and adapt to a new culture and country”.
Sport NZ Graduate Lily Joiner, who is currently working at Sport Tasman, has been involved in similar initiatives in Wellington and says she too has witnessed the power that football can have on the lives of new migrants and refugees, who may feel disconnected from their new community.
“Football acts as a universal language that can create whanaungatanga and friendship across cultures” she said.
It is hoped that the winning team will be able to represent Nelson Tasman at the New Zealand ethnic football festival later in the year.
For team registration enquiries please email Jeni at Sport Tasman on Jeni.T@sporttasman.org.nz
Please note: the event will be alcohol and drug-free and depending on the level of the Covid Protection Framework in March, vaccine passes may be required as per NZ Football Guidelines.
A New Casa for Nelson's Latin American Community
The Latin American community in Nelson now has a small home in an office next to Multicultural Nelson Tasman in Hardy Street.
At office number 8 upstairs at 159 Hardy Street, Colombian community member Luisa Diaz has created a welcoming and colourful space, which will be used to host activities that support the wider community. These could range from assistance filling with in various applications or forms, Spanish language groups and other activities related to cultural retention, plus general support for members with whatever they might require.
Luisa has also gained the support of the national organisation ALAC Inc (Aotearoa Latin American Community) with ALAC staff and social workers visiting Nelson recently to meet with Luisa and community members in the new space.
Strategic Planning Day with Communities and Multicultural New Zealand
 
On November 27th people took time out of their busy pre-holiday rush to attend a strategic planning meeting with representatives of Multicultural New Zealand. It was a great opportunity to get together, share ideas and priorities, and meet new people. We had great representation from the Korean, Bhutanese, Japanese, Chin, Chinese, Latino, Indian, Sri Lankan, Indonesian, Thai and Filipino communities. It was great to hear what communities are either doing, or aspiring to achieve for 2022. Many thanks to Pancha Narayanan (President) and Gurtej Singh (Community Relationships Advisor) from Multicultural New Zealand, for leading the day.
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| - MULTICULTURAL YOUTH NELSON TASMAN - |
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New members joining the Multicultural Youth Nelson Tasman (MYNT) Group
New office holders were appointed end of last year and all share a passion to work towards more projects that include youth from varied cultural backgrounds. Plans for 2022 include connecting with primary schools to share their cultures and encourage empathy and positive race relations. Other projects may include more Random Acts of Kindness, visiting retirement villages, holding a Youth Movie Day, connecting with colleges on their "Diversity Days" and much more.
Thanks Erin from Nelson Weekly for featuring the MYNTies in an article last December and sharing the ideas of both existing and new members of the group.
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That's MYNT @ Fresh FM
‘That’s MYNT!' is a radio show by the Multicultural Youth group of Nelson Tasman. We have started our show in October 2020 and since, want to entertain our community with a fun mix of interviews, music and chat. The show is broadcast every Tuesday between 5 pm and 6 pm. Tune your radio to 104.8 (Nelson-Tasman)/ 107.2 (Nelson CBD)/ 88.9 (Blenheim)/ 95.0 (Eastern Golden Bay) or visit fresh fm net to listen to our Multicultural show.
We thought it would be good to start the year with a fresh and a friendly radio recording session with fun, so we joined a recording session online and discussed what we did for Christmas and New Year. We also made sure to let our listeners know that there will be more interviews coming up in the future on 'That's MYNT!' on Fresh FM. We are very excited to lead and deliver our new projects in 2022 and connect more with youth and other communities in the Nelson Tasman region.
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Launch of Welcoming Communities in Nelson Tasman
The Welcoming Communities Initiative launched in Te Tau Ihu last Tuesday at Victory Community Centre and was also hosted by the Nelson Tasman Settlement Forum and both Councils. Despite the move to the red alert level that day, more than 30 stakeholders and community leaders turned out to celebrate (in socially-distanced style) the settlement programme that helps support Nelson City Council and Tasman District Council and their communities to create welcoming and inclusive environments for newcomers – including recent migrants, former refugees and international students.
There were speeches from Mayors Rachel Reese (Nelson) and Tim King (Tasman), and local MP Rachel Boyack, who all offered thoughts about the value that a diverse population offered to the region.
 
 
Image Source - Facebook: Nelson City Council and Rachel Boyack MP
Music Mix - A free music experience for all
Music Mix is an opportunity for Nelsonians who enjoy music but have never had an opportunity to give it a go, to do that.
Held at Victory Community Centre, these one-hour free encounters will give audiences a chance to listen, talk, learn, perhaps to try an instrument, and hopefully start a musical journey of their own.
Music Mix is sponsored by Nelson City Council in association with Nelson Centre of Musical Arts and Multicultural Nelson Tasman, and supported by Rata Foundation and Pomeroy's Coffee &Tea.
Upcoming dates are:
Saturday 29 January
Saturday 12 February
Be sure to arrive early, as seats will be limited to comply with COVID-19 restrictions.
Vaccine Pass required.
News from Cultural Conversations
Join the Sound Painting Club at Cultural Conversations. Open for Musicians, dancers, singers and actors of all levels. Sound painting is a directed improvisation where creativity has no limits.
Tuesdays 7.30 pm at Cultural Conversations Morrison Square. Suggested donation $5-$20.
Vaccine pass required.
Summer of Sandcastles by Top of the South Neighbourhood Support
TSNS is having their 3rd annual Tahunanui sandcastle and sculpture competition.
There are loads of safe, free activities in your neighbourhood to enjoy this year.
One of our favorites is building sandcastles at the beach! It's a temporary masterpiece that tells people you've been there, but only for as long as the tide allows.
Head to the beach, create your temporary masterpiece, take a photo and enter at www.tsns.org.nz/sand
Deadline 6 February
Prizes to be announced soon
Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/1kqRqUmi9
Women's Multicultural Meals
The Victory Community Centre will restart their Women's Multicultural Meals next month and in light of current Omicron-related restrictions they will run them as a monthly picnic. Bring some kai/food and a picnic blanket! Wāhine will eat together on the grass under the trees next to the Railway Reserve from 12noon to 1pm on Wednesday 9th Feb, 9th March & 13th April.
FREE Rangatahi BBQ at Victory Community Centre
Victory Community Centre is teaming up with Whanake Youth to hold a Rangatahi BBQ at lunchtime on Tuesday 1st of February, to listen to what local youth (aged Year 8s and up) would like to help make happen at the Community Centre.
Pakistan Association of New Zealand (PANZ) in Nelson
We're pleased to introduce Sanam Mukhtar, who is the new Regional Head of PANZ for Nelson.
Sanam welcomes people to contact her if they would like to find out more about Pakistani culture, or to even learn to speak Urdu. She would also like to get in touch with those from Pakistan who might be living in the Nelson-Tasman region.
Contact: Sanam Mukhtar
Email: Sanam.mukhtar@gmail.com
Call/SMS: 027 904 1685
Casual task-based opportunity for people who can speak English and any one of the following languages.
Burmese, Cantonese Chin Hakha, Karenni, Kayan, Khmer (Cambodian), Korean, Mandarin, Samoan, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish
Contact: Sanam Mukhtar
Email: nelson@interpret.org.nz
Call/SMS: 022 412 0163
SPEAK OUT Nelson Tasman
MNT together with Community Law and Nelson Police work together to minimise racist incidents in our community. Speak Out Nelson Tasman (SONT) provides a user-friendly way to report racist incidents. Reports can be made by the victim, a witness or support person on behalf of the victim. Reporting of incidents is important whether or not the victim wants anything done about it as it provides important information to assist the police and other agencies regarding the extent of this problem and ways to address it.
Please do reach out to us if you have any concerns or would like to report anything.
Tel: 0508 (SPEAK OUT)
0508 773 256
For more info, go to our website
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Life at Red
At Red, we need to take action to protect our vulnerable communities and our health system from COVID-19.
- Red is not a lockdown, but there are restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19.
- You will always be able to access basic needs services, such as food and healthcare.
- You can travel anywhere in New Zealand for any reason, and see friends and whānau.
- You must wear a face mask on flights, public transport, and taxis, in retail shops and public venues, and in health and education facilities.
- With My Vaccine Pass, most parts of life continue as usual. You can visit cafes and bars, attend gatherings and events, and go to the hairdresser and gym. There are capacity limits and distancing requirements at some venues.
- Without My Vaccine Pass, there are restrictions.
- Workplaces and schools are open.
- Keep scanning QR codes and recordkeeping wherever you go.
- Keep physically distanced wherever possible.
- If you have cold, flu or COVID-19 symptoms, isolate immediately and call Healthline for advice.
Learn more about life at red: https://covid19.govt.nz/traffic-lights/life-at-red/
You can find information and advice translated in to different languages: https://covid19.govt.nz/languages-and-resources/translations/
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We always appreciate your help
Multicultural Nelson Tasman is an independent charitable organisation that ensures that ethnic migrants and former refugees settle and integrate well, and have opportunities to participate in and contribute to the wider community. Equally, we educate locals and newcomers from different ethnicities to understand each other, learn about and appreciate new Zealand's biculturalism, and the richness and benefits that a multicultural society brings. We advocate unity in diversity.
By becoming a supporter, you'll be helping us to carry out our mahi!
Your participation within our organisation makes the difference! Whatever your age or lifestyle, ethnic background or individual living situation, you can help to make the world a better place and influence the course of society. Your membership, collaboration, insights and/or kind donation will enable us to continue doing our vital work. Only a strong organisation that acts as the voice of many is capable of achieving our common goal! And only through increased funding, we will have the capacity to make this voice heard.
You can support us by becoming a member or simply giving a contribution towards our cause.
Are you an organisation or do you own a local business? You can support us by donating here:
Naku te rourou nau te rourou ka ora ai te iwi -
With your basket and my basket the people will live!
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Thanks to all our wonderful founders and sponsors.
Your support is kindly appreciated.
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