Aroha mai, aroha atu
Love towards us, love going out from us

Registrations are open for Multicultural Festival 2022

       
  

"I am so thrilled to assist Multicultural Nelson Tasman with the Multicultural Festival in 2022! This event is so important within the local ethnic community and it is a privilege to be a part of it". 

Tasman Asian Night Food Fair 2022 - Registrations for vendors and performers

Would you like to sell food or perform at the Tasman Asian Night Food Fair?
The registrations are now open for #TANFF22
Tasman Asian Night Food Fair - 12th February 2022, 4 pm- 9 pm at Washbourn Gardens, Richmond.



Vendor/performer registration:
https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLScoWsb6Hvr.../viewform...



 

Introducing Mahafrin Variava - our newest Board member

Mahafrin was born in India and raised in the UAE before moving to Aotearoa with her family in 2004. She is an Immigration and Employment Law specialist and speaks Hindi and Gujarati. Mahafrin joined the MNT Board in October 2021 and strongly believes in the power of conversation, diversity and creating awareness about the very differences that unite us.

She holds a passion for social justice and grassroot movements and within this, wishes to work towards creating a system where language and culture no longer create barriers to accessing legal services. By being on the MNT Board, Mahafrin hopes to develop a platform where promoting access to justice becomes a part of everyday practice with law enforcement agencies and legal service providers. In her mind, breaking down the barriers between those wishing to access services and those that provide it, is a key step in creating confidence and empowering migrants to access services when they need it. Overall, she’s excited about the prospect of supporting the MNT team with the various incredible projects and initiatives that they have in place to weave diversity into the fabric of Aotearoa.

We warmly welcome you on board Mahafrin!

Multicultural Kai Class and Koreros at the Food Factory continued!

Latifa Daoui presenting Moroccan cuisine
Here are some of the photos from the Moroccan Kai and Korero held on Saturday, 16 October.
Latifa taught everyone how to make a traditional meat and vegetable cous cous dish from scratch, and made and poured traditional mint tea as an accompaniment.  Participants loved tasting the different dishes and sharing stories and we enjoyed hearing Latifa's settlement journey, and true 'culture shock' after landing in quiet Stoke some 15+ years ago -  after being used to the hustle and bustle of her home city Casablanca.
Thanks Latifa for being such an amazing facilitator and gratitude to The Food Factory for providing us with a wonderful demonstration kitchen.




Merouane Rahal presenting French cuisine
Our third Kai and Korero was on Saturday, 6 November at the Food Factory. We learned how to prepare a chicken dish (and used local cider) with a potato galette and spring vegetables,  plus Pic’s Peanut Butter-inspired crème caramel. It was such a good combination! We would like to thank Chef Merouane Rahal and Chef Mimi for their time and teaching us some amazing French cuisine.
Special thanks again to The Food Factory, and also Peckham's Cider for donating a beverage that added amazing flavours.




In partnership with The Food Factory, we look forward to continuing this wonderful initiative with different cuisines and cultural korero during the next year too. We hope you will be joining us!

Having the hard conversations... Racism in our region
Last month, 31 participants from a range of organisations took part in a half-day hui to look at how those in the region might work collaboratively and proactively to challenge racism and discrimination across the Nelson Tasman region.
The hui was organised by Multicultural Nelson Tasman and the Inclusive Aotearoa Collective Tahono and involved facilitated conversations to consider what was working well, where there were gaps and what opportunities there were to work together to foster more of a sense of belonging and inclusion.
Participants spoke openly about the ways that racism and discrimination were showing up across the region, ranging from blatant ‘in your face’ racism, through to bullying and harassment in schools, unconscious bias, as well as a general under-representation of diverse people at decision-making levels.
They also spoke about steps already being taken to counter racism and support inclusion and identified what was missing, plus what further work could be carried out to bring about positive change.
Just some of the opportunities identified included: more cultural diversity training (and making such programmes part of inductions for new staff), learning how to speak out against racism and to intervene safely when it happens, building more partnerships with local iwi to support diversity and inclusion (including powhiri for newcomers), more sharing of resources, strengthening our own capacity to do the work  and taking advantage of blended learning opportunities such as can be found through the Te Hurihanganui initiative.


Following the hui, a written report of the collaborative conversations was produced by IACT facilitators Graeme Storer and Atarau Hamilton and distributed to all those present.
Going forward, Multicultural Nelson Tasman invites all those interested in furthering the work and suggested actions arising from the hui, to form a small working group to look at “what next” for this important mahi. If you would like to be involved, please email anna@multiculturalnt.co.nz

Cross-cultural awareness and competence are increasingly important (and sought after) skills for the workplace and in general day-to-day interactions.  In collaboration with our Cross-Cultural Awareness expert and workshop facilitator, Birte Becker-Steel, we have successfully delivered ten workshops this year to stakeholders, the most recent ones being the workshop for staff and volunteers at Victory Community Centre and Plunket and also the public workshop at the Fairfield House.



Get in touch with Ramiesha at admin@multiculturalnt.co.nz if you are interested in organising a workshop for your organisation or if you would like to attend to one of our public workshops. 
The 1-day workshop is a great opportunity and valuable source to:

• Understand the relationships between culture, cultural values, communication, relationships, and effective workplace interactions. 
• Recognise differing cultural characteristics in yourself and others.
• Value workplace communication and relationship-building.
• Identify ways to further improve your intercultural communication skills.

That's MYNT @ Fresh FM by Nikita Puri

We are recruiting new members for MYNT!

Do you want to empower other young people to thrive in an environment of diversity, unity and acceptance? Do you want to help us make Nelson Tasman a paradise of unity? Do you have children that would like to get involved with the MYNTies?

We are a group of young people between 14 and 21 living in the Nelson-Tasman region. Some of us have been in Nelson for a long time; some for only a few years. We are different in many ways. We speak different languages. We come from all corners of the globe. And we have different ideas for our community. 




Get in touch with us if you require more information or want to join the group!

New Zealand Immigration
New 2021 Resident Visa Application Process

The 2021 Resident visa will be open for applications in two phases, with the first group of people able to apply from 1 December 2021.

From 1 December 2021 you can apply if:

• you have already applied for residence under the Skilled Migrant or Residence from Work categories on or before 29 September 2021, or
• you have submitted a Skilled Migrant Category Expression of Interest, and have included your dependent child in the Expression of Interest aged 17 years or older on 29 September 2021.

From 1 March 2022 all other eligible applicants can apply, including all others who have submitted a Skilled Migrant Category Expression of Interest.

All applications must be made by 31 July 2022 and applications can only be submitted online.

As part of the online application process, Phase one applicants must enter their Skilled Migrant Category, Residence from Work application or Expression of Interest number before they can proceed with their application. The application number can only be used for one application.

For further information including visa conditions, fees and refunds and processing timeframes visit  https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/already-have-a-visa/one-off-residence-visa/2021-resident-visa-application-process

Music Mix - A free music experience for all

Free Immigration Advice from a Licensed Immigration Adviser

Sandrine Savarit, Licensed Immigration Adviser, continues to offer free, initial consultations for the general public from our MNT office at 159 Hardy Street.  Sandrine will help people to find answers to their questions related to immigration matters and can also assist with immigration form-filling.   Please get in touch with us by emailing: admin@multiculturalnt.co.nz if you would like to book an appointment with Sandrine.

Latin America & Spain Film Festival 2021

LASFF is a cultural event dedicated to contemporary cinematographic productions from Latin America and Spain. It is also a non-profit event which aims to bring together Latin America, Spain and other New Zealand communities through the big screen.
TIMETABLE - LASFF NELSON 2021:
All films / Todas las peliculas:
https://www.lasffnz.co.nz/festival-schedule-2021/
Book your ticket for FREE (essential):
https://lasffnelson2021.eventbrite.co.nz



For more information please visit lasffnz.co.nz.

The 2nd Latin America & Spain Film Festival (LASFF) in Nelson was launched on Friday 22nd October at 7 pm at NMIT with karakia and speeches, including an appearance via Zoom by Francisco Berninzon, Secretary of the Peruvian Embassy, followed by a screening of the Peruvian documentary Pacificum.


Supporters include NelsonSon-Afro and Latin Dance, Nelson City Council, Multicultural Nelson Tasman, NMIT, the Nelson Regional Development Agency, Uniquely Nelson, ItsOn and New World.

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News from Cultural Conversations

Indian Dance plus Q & A
Come and find out more about Indian dance with Prerna hosted by Rebecca Deva. Next Sunday (21st November) 4- 4.45 p.m. at Cultural Conversations. There will be a short performance followed by a Q and A opportunity.
Suitable for all ages.

Limited spaces so please rsvp to: https://www.voicecollective.org/event-details/indian-dance-with-prerna-followed-by-q-and-a

Inviting all Henna lovers!
There will also be a Henna session with Sadia on Saturday, 27 November from 11 am at Cultural Conversations.


Q & A with Om and Priya
On Thursday, 9 December there will be a Q &  A session with Om and Priya from the Indian Community at       6.30 pm at Cultural Conversations, too.

Sounds of the City - UP BEATS

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Poutama Pounamu Blended Learning for 2022

Poutama Pounamu would like to invite you to their Blended Learning information hui where they will share learning platforms. Te Hurihanganui provides an opportunity to come together across Te Tauihu in 2022 and collectively build capacity.
Calling all whānau, rangatahi (Yrs 12/13), iwi partners, community members and educators who share a commitment to addressing racism, ensuring equity and improving outcomes for ākonga Māori and for all.



Date: Thursday 2nd December, 2021
Venue: Nelson Central School
First session: Thursday 3.30pm
Second session: Thursday 5.30pm

They will run the same session in two different time slots to enable as many as possible to attend.
For more information please visit: https://poutamapounamu.org.nz/elearning/about

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The Nelson Tasman Settlement Forum (NTSF)

The Nelson Tasman Settlement Forum continues to meet 6-weekly at Victory Community Centre, and Multicultural Nelson Tasman has now taken on a secretariat role for the Group.
Most recently, the forum (which is comprised primarily of stakeholders from central and local government, education and NGOs), has been reviewing the Top of the South Cross Sector Action Plan, to see what has been accomplished over the past 2 years.
This action plan arose from a piece of research that MNT commissioned in 2018, to look into the needs and challenges of migrants and former refugees in the region.  The detailed plan gave a list of 16 proposed actions, including the rationale behind them, their priority, which agencies could be involved, and an outcome or measure.
It has been encouraging to see some of the outcomes achieved and gaps that have been filled over the past couple of years. Reviewing the plan also enables the forum members to see what is still outstanding and what priorities may have changed across the settlement sector, particularly in light of Covid19.

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Interpreting NZ 

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 

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!