Multicultural X-mas BBQ and Sand Sculpture Competition

NEWSLETTER DECEMBER

Kia ora

First of all, we would like to thank all the communities, organisations, partners and funders/sponsors who stood by our side during this past challenging year. Although some events had to be cancelled, together we contributed to enhancing the cultural diversity and wellbeing in our community by engaging with communities, individuals, celebrating unity in diversity, and helping each other during the tough times.

This past year has flown by, and while the rest of the world - our friends, families, relatives around the globe - is fighting against increasing COVID infection numbers, we are lucky to enjoy the freedom to gather, celebrate and laugh together in Aotearoa. We were extremely happy to finish this year of cancellations off with a joint Multicultural/TSNS/Newcomers Network potluck BBQ and sand sculpture competition held at Tahunanui Beach. We would like to thank everyone who helped organising and joined us. We were also privileged to meet Anusha Guler, the Executive Director of the Office of Ethnic Communities and glad that she joined the interview with "That's MYNT" on Fresh FM.

As we are approach Christmas and the new year, we are planning our big events Multicultural Festival and the Tasman Asian Night Food Fair (TANFF). We invite you to celebrate cultural diversity, unity and peace with us - privileges that we value this year more than ever. Our registrations for vendors, volunteers and performers are now open - so please get in touch with us if you want to become an active part of our annual celebrations!

We would like to invite you to learn with us from and about different cultures, to celebrate the warmer days and focus on staying connected as a (comm)unity in diversity! We wish you and your families a merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and positive start into the new year

Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa

Let us keep close together not far apart

- MULTICULTURAL NELSON TASMAN -

Ethnic Leaders Forum Nelson - Communities meet OEC representatives

Leaders of our ethnic communities and selected agencies were invited to meet and discuss with Anusha Guler, the new Executive Director of the Office of Ethnic Communities (OEC). The 'Ethnic Leaders Forum' was organised by Office of Ethnic Communities (OEC) in close collaboration with Multicultural Nelson Tasman on the 3rd of December 2020. During the forum, representatives of the communities had the opportunity to learn about the work of the Office of Ethnic Communties (OEC) and to participate in a conversation about the priorities for Ethnic Communities as we move into 2021. Anusha Guler, originally from South Africa, stressed the importance of closer engagement between government agencies and migrant communities as well as the need for a reciprocal approach to integration in order to ensure social cohesion in New Zealand.

Multicultural Festival and Tasman Asian Night Food Fair (TANFF) 2021

Race Unity Day becomes Multicultural Festival - Next year for the first time...Despite the new name, our reason to celebrate with you stays the same: the beauty of cultural diversity in our region

Save the date
Tasman Asian Night Food Fair (TANFF) will kick off on Saturday, 13th February 2021, at 4 pm at Washbourn Gardens in Richmond and
The Multicultural Festival will be held on Sunday, 28th of March 2021, from 11 am to 4 pm at Victory Square.

Join us to gather alongside music, dance, food, arts and crafts, and family fun!
Join us to celebrate 'Unity in Diversity'!

Multicultural X-Mas BBQ and Sand Sculpture Competition

Together with our friends from Top of the South Neighbourhood Support (TSNS) and the Newcomers Network, we celebrated an early multicultural X-Mas by the beach. We shared kai from different cultures including the classic Kiwi sausage sizzle, fun, love and Christmas vibes. Around 20 dedicated teams created beautiful sculptures in the sand at Tahunanui Beach, and took away spot prizes for each of their artworks.
Thank you Neighborhood Support Nelson Tasman and Nelson Newcomers Network for co-hosting the event with us. And a special huge thank you to our sponsors Pic's Peanut Butter for donating some delicious spot prices and Cancer Society Nelson for lending us some well needed shade.

Registrations OPEN for TANFF and Multicultural Festival!!! Call for vendors, performers and volunteers!!!

Are you a vendor or a performer? Do you want to share your culture with our community? Would you like to volunteer with us to organise amazing events?

Registrations for our upcoming Multicultural Festival and Tasman Asian Night Food Fair (TANFF) are now open!

If you think you can add some colour or do something unique to represent your culture, you are warmly welcome.

Get in touch with us for any enquiries on volunteering opportunities and to register or sign up via the link below:
TANFF 2021 registration form
Multicultural Festival 2021 registration form

- MULTICULTURAL YOUTH NELSON TASMAN -

MYNT interviewing Anusha Guler

Our second MYNT show was an engaging interview with Anusha Guler, the Executive Director of the Office of Ethnic Communities (OEC). Anusha, who grew up in the apartheid-era South Africa, was appointed to her position in June 2020. She moved to New Zealand many years ago to find a new home as the crime rates were going high in South Africa. Anusha was supportive throughout the recording and provided great information and suggestions for the young leaders of tomorrow. Click here to listen to our latest show and keep an eye out for “That’s MYNT!” on Fresh FM! Stay tuned Nelson!

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 and are planning on entertaining our community with a fun mix of interviews, music and chat. The show is broadcasted every Tuesday between 6:00 pm and 7 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. The third MYNT show interviewed the Manager of Multicultural Nelson Tasman at Fresh FM and we had so much of fun talking about her background, experiences and what MNT is planning for the next year 2021.

Become a member

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 -

Royal Commission report on Christchurch mosques terror attacks published

After nearly 20 months and multiple extensions the findings of the high-level investigation of the Royal Commission of inquiry into the terrorist attack on Christchurch mosques on 15 March 2019 have been made public.

The 800-page report has been released along with promises from the government to implement all 44 recommendations, including further changes to how firearms are managed, to hate crime laws, and eventually the creation of a new national security and intelligence agency.

The Royal Commission was tasked with examining what exactly security agencies knew about the terrorist before the shootings and what it did with that information.

It was also looking at what could be done to prevent similar attacks ever happening again.

The report's recommendations look at how New Zealand can boost its counter terrorism expertise and capacity, how to better "confront and engage openly on the hard issues", tighten up firearms licensing and the way the regime is run, broaden hate speech laws, support affected survivors, whānau and the broader community.

Prime Minister Ardern says all recommendations will be picked up but some, including the establishment of a new national intelligence and security agency, will need further consideration.

Soon after the publication of the report, PM Ardern confirmed a number of initiatives, including:

Cabinet minister Andrew Little will be put in charge of coordinating the government's response and implementing the recommendations
A new Ministry for Ethnic Communities will be created
Establish Te Raranga, The Weave, to help frontline police identify, record and manage hate crime and be more responsive to victims
Establish a National Centre of Excellence to research radicalisation, violent extremism and social cohesion in New Zealand
Amend terrorism suppression and hate crime laws
Create an early intervention Police programme for individuals showing early signs of radicalisation.

Read here for the full report.

MNZ & MNT on the Royal Commission report

Multicultural New Zealand (MNZ) welcomes the recommendations from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the March 15th Christchurch Mosque attacks and urges the government to implement them thoughtfully and promptly.

MNZ President, Pancha Narayanan, says the Federation expects the government and its agencies to carry through on all recommendations and to do this with demonstrable transparency and accountability. MNZ congratulates the Prime Minister on appointing a Minister with responsibilities to see that this is achieved.

MNZ welcomes the establishment of a new Ministry of Ethnic Communities “However, we want to see New Zealand as a Treaty-based multicultural society and hope the new Ministry will be built from ground up, with new values and direction strongly founded on Te Tiriti,” he said. Mr. Narayanan believes serious changes also need to be made to the education system at primary and tertiary levels so cultural diversity is encouraged in Aotearoa New Zealand. He hopes people will see that strategic thinking does not always happen in a monolingual context.

Multicultural Nelson Tasman (MNT) particularly appreciates the report acknowledging New Zealand's superdiversity and the need to focus on social cohesion in part 9. The report states that "New Zealand is generally regarded as a country with a high level of social cohesion, but underlying vulnerabilities and issues remain that are yet to be fully addressed."

INZ Newcomers skills matching services and job search assistance

Usually newcomer skills matching services are focused on skilled migrants and their partners with residence visas. Now the services are also available for those on work to residence visas who have lost a job and need an equivalent job to help them retain their pathway to residence.

Immigration New Zealand has extended its newcomer skills matching and job search assistance services programme to prioritise assisting skilled migrants who have lost jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here to find out more!

- NELSON / TASMAN-

Become an Interpreter

Interpreting NZ is recruiting people now to work as interpreters for us in Nelson. In order to be considered, applicants will need to complete a short training course and then be assessed as proficient in the skills and knowledge learned on the course.
Additionally, you should be
Available during working hours
A NZ citizen or holder of permanent residence status
Proficient in English and another language, particularly any of these:
Burmese, Cantonese, Chin Hakha, Karenni, Kayan, Khmer (Cambodian), Korean, Mandarin, Samoan, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish.
For more information, including course dates, location, application process, you are welcome to visit https://interpret.org.nz/become-an-interpreter.html. Applications close on Monday, 17 January 2021.

Free English training for New Zealand residents, partners and children

Nelson English Centre is offering students 8 weeks of FREE full time English training (offer available until 30/6/21).

Students must be: NZ resident, Partner of a New Zealander with a Work Visa, Partner of a New Zealander with a Visitor Visa or Child of a New Zealander with a Visitor Visa (16+).

If you or anyone in your community that you know who would like to learn English for free, please email admin@english-school.ac.nz for further information.

Cross-Cultural Awareness and Communication training

Do you or your organisation require assistance in cross-cultural communication? Would you like to increase your knowledge about other cultures or improve the relationship with clients or colleagues?
Get in touch with us if you would like to organise a training tailored to your organisation's or businesses needs!
We offer 1-day workshops where you can learn how to communicate more effectively across cultural boundaries. Understand the relationships between culture, cultural values, communication, relationships, and effective workplace interactions. Recognize differing cultural characteristics in yourself and others. Value workplace communication and relationship-building. Identify ways to further improve your intercultural communication skills.

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!

Thanks to all our wonderful founders and sponsors.
Your support is kindly appreciated.

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