Kia ora
We've had a positive and hectic start to 2023 with the return of our events and an amazing award - with MNT winning the Chamber of Commerce Bowater Hyundai Community Impact Award on February 24th. Feedback from the judges was that "the work of Multicultural Nelson Tasman might not be immediately obvious to the wider community, but is of vital importance to everyone". We agree! After almost 29 years of MNT working in this space in the community, it was very special to receive this recognition.
The much-anticipated events kicked off on February 11 with the Tasman Asian Night Food Fair in Richmond, the Multicultural Cricket Day on March 12 at Victory and both the Multicultural Football and the Multicultural Festival on the weekend of March 18/19 at Neale and Founders Parks respectively.
It would be safe to say that due to the absence of large events during Covid, by the start of 2023 people were absolutely primed and ready to celebrate our unity in diversity together - with record numbers in attendance at all the events. We estimate that some 3000 attended the Tasman Asian Night Food Fair - packing out Washbourn Gardens and vendors selling out of their delicious fare within a couple of hours. Around 5000 or so attended the Multicultural Festival at a new trial location of Founders, which also saw the finals of the 2nd annual Multicultural Football Tournament being played next door at Neale Park.
We wholeheartedly appreciate the support of Nelson City Council, the Ethnic Communities Development Fund as well as a host of local businesses and wonderful volunteers who stepped up to sponsor and support these events, we could not have done it without them. You can see sponsors mentioned further on in the newsletter.
As we move past our summer flagship events, our focus now moves to business as usual, with a continued delivery of cross-cultural awareness workshops, plus new Te Tiriti O Waitangi "Treaty People" education workshops (specifically aimed at newcomers to Aotearoa, though anyone who needs to upskill around Te Tiriti is welcome!) We also continue our anti-racism work after a second successful and well-attended workshop in late February. We appreciate funding from Te Korowai Whetū Social Cohesion community fund to be able to assist with these activities.
Our Mynties (Multicultural Youth Nelson Tasman) are gearing up for some collaborative events to celebrate Youth Week 2023 and are looking forward to welcoming new members who discovered them at our recent events. Don't forget, if you know a young person (13-21) who might like to join a fun and diverse group of youth - please let us know. The Mynties meet fortnightly at the MNT office in Collingwood Street on a Thursday after school.
Ngā mihi,
Anna and Ramiesha
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| MULTICULTURAL NELSON TASMAN NEWS |
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Multicultural Nelson Tasman wins Community Impact Award
Multicultural Nelson Tasman was thrilled to win the Bowater Hyundai Community Impact Award at the Nelson Pine Industries Chamber of Commerce Business Awards 2022. The awards ceremony was held on February 24 at the Rutherford Hotel. Representing MNT on the night were Carol Morgan and Marie Lindaya (founding member of MNT and current Acting Chair). They are pictured below with Chris Bowater.
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Tasman Asian Night Food Fair 2023
The Tasman Asian Food Fair returned to Washbourn Gardens on February 11 to an estimated bumper crowd of around 3000 people. Enthusiastic attendees ate, danced and were merry and the rain poured down in Nelson, but seemed to magically miss Richmond that evening.
Find below a collection of beautiful shots by Debra Cole. If you spot any of you or your community and would like a digital copy - please let us know. Thanks to Tasman District Council and the Ethnic Communities Development Fund for support of this event, as well as our amazing volunteers, Board members and performance manager Pablo Salas.
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Multicultural Cricket Day
We had our first Multicultural Cricket Day on 12 March at Victory Square. The games started with a welcoming to the home of Whakatu Cricket Club, the historic Victory Square – Nelson's first First Class Ground.
The Multicultural Cricket Day idea (first suggested to MNT by newly-arrived Pakistani refugees at an orientation workshop) was brought into reality by Nelson Cricket, Nelson City Council - Welcoming Communities and Multicultural Nelson Tasman and other interested people from the Cricket-loving communities in Nelson. Special thanks to Rotary Club of Whakatū & Wakatu Cricket Club Nelson for your support of this kaupapa and all the teams who participated and all volunteers, including the Rotary Club of Richmond.
The Multicultural Cricket Day was all about encouraging our communities to showcase their passion for Cricket and giving them a chance to represent their home colours. It was played well within the Spirit of Cricket, providing a safe space for new and current players to showcase their skills and increase their mana in a friendly environment at Victory Square, Nelson. A special thanks to Dushmatha Nuwan Photography for the great shots!
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2nd Annual Multicultural Football Tournament
A whopping 16 teams registered for the 2023 Multicultural Football tournament which was played over March 18 and 19th at Neale Park (with finals running at the same time as the festival at Founders). The games were split into competitive and social grades with the FC Nelson Wannabees (a diverse team from FC Nelson) beating the Chin team in the hotly-contested finals. The Bhutanese won the plate, Chin 2nd won the Bowl, Karenni youth the Shield and the guys from Khmer Khmer Krom took out the "Spirit of Football" Award for being great sportsmen and supporters. The Pele Most Valuable Player Award went to Erwin Grabb of the Wannabees.
Thanks to everyone who turned up, risked pulled muscles and grass burns, and gave it a shot. Thanks to volunteers and organising team including: Bill Huppler from NCC Welcoming Communities,TJ Hansen from FC Nelson, Marcelo Ribas, CAYAD - Community Action on Youth and Drugs, and Sport Tasman.
Special thanks to Murray Leaning at Mitre 10 for the amazing sausage sizzle once again this year.
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Multicultural Festival 2023
We had our biggest ever Multicultural Festival on Sunday 19 March at the new location of Founders Heritage Park. The park was full of beautiful colours, music, food and many interactive activities.
This year we had more than 50 food stalls, 20 information stalls, plus 25 performances on the stage representing many countries and cultures. Unlike other festivals which have focused mainly on food and performances, this year we answered the call for more 'intercultural' learning opportunities and offered activities such as the "Respect" photographic exhibition by Debra Cole, the "Diversitree" art work (which many people contributed to), the Global Tea Tent, the Human Library and also the dedicated spaces for kids and family activities. There was also the hugely popular colour-throwing Holi festival celebration hosted by Nelson Sanatan Ramayan Mandli, which added to the ambience of the day (and maybe a few stains to some clothes!)
We thank everyone (there are too many of you!) who supported this mahi in many ways in order to showcase our kaupapa, "Unity in Diversity".
A big thanks again to our sponsors!
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MNT Welcomes Four New Board Members
We are thrilled to introduce our four newest Board members - (clockwise from left: Pauline Agache, Felicity Palmer, Ishan Patel and Karen Ramirez. We are excited about the passion and combined experience that they will bring to Multicultural Nelson Tasman Inc. You can find out more about them by reading their full bios here on our website.
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Cross Cultural Awareness Workshop
The Nelson-Tasman region is home to people from many different ethnicities who live, work and volunteer together. In our increasingly mobile, globally connected world, the ability to understand the culture and culture-related behaviour is a core skill for successful personal as well as professional interactions.
Increase your Cultural Intelligence to be ready for life in a diverse society.
In this one-day workshop, you will…
 reflect on your own cultural identity and the impact of beliefs and values,
increase your knowledge about culturally related behaviour and gain insight into cultural traits beyond confining stereotypes
get to know models and tools to compare and understand cultures better
learn about appropriate ways to communicate in different settings and minimize misunderstandings. This is a FREE public workshop
Email admin@multiculturalnt.co.nz to book your space now!
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Te Tiriti o Waitangi Workshop - coming up in May
Te Tiriti O Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi) is important for everyone living in Aotearoa,
but many new (and older) migrants don't know very much about it...
Join us for this FREE interactive full-day workshop to learn more about:
- How we connect to Te Tiriti as people from diverse backgrounds
- The political context - leading to the Declaration in 1835 and the Treaty in 1840
- A history of colonisation: Crown actions and Māori resistence
- Matike Mai: A future vision for Aotearoa
- What Te Tiriti means today: next steps for individuals and organisations
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Anti-racism and Allyship Workshop
We held our second anti-racism and allyship workshop on February 25th with Kind Mind Kai, giving the opportunity for another group of like-minded people to come together and harness confidence around being upstanders, rather than bystanders, when they see or experience racism. A Part II workshop will be coming up soon, enabling people who have attended earlier workshops to build on their prior learning.
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| - MULTICULTURAL YOUTH NELSON TASMAN - |
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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? Get in touch with us if you require more information or want to join the group!
Thanks to Nelson City Council for funding the Multicultural Youth Nelson Tasman.
Watch our latest recruitment video here
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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 bi-culturalism, and the richness and benefits that a multicultural society brings. We advocate for 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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