Multicultural Tree Planting
Nelson City Council and Ministry for Primary Industries, in partnership with Multicultural Nelson Tasman and Friends of the Maitai invite you to join the Community Planting Day.
This is to commemorate all those who have journeyed to Aotearoa New Zealand over time, to make Whakatu Nelson their home.
Join us on 20 August 2022 from 1 pm to 3 pm Mahitahi Wetland, adjacent to the Maitai Campground, Maitai Valley Road.
Bring your family and friends and help plant 1000 trees. Food and refreshments will be provided as well as some activities for the younger
(and the older) ones when they get tired of planting.
Wear warm clothes and sturdy footwear. Spades will be provided too!
Follow our Facebook event:
Morning Tea for Newcomers
Are you new to Nelson?
This is a wonderful way to enjoy a hot drink while meeting new people - everyone is welcome.
The Morning Tea for Newcomers will be held on Wednesday, 31 August from 10 am to 11 am. Pop into our office at 3/63 Collingwood Street, Nelson.
Multicultural Nelson Tasman would love to provide newcomers support, advocacy and navigation to relevant agencies, to support people’s settlement process as well as opportunities to connect.
You can also get to know more about who we are and what we do!
Please RSVP to admin@multiculturalnt.co.nz if you would like to attend.
Multicultural Kai and Korero with Mini and Feni - Indonesian Cuisine
We are planning three more Kai and Korero sessions this year which will be Indonesian, Arabic and Moroccan Cuisines. These cooking classes are a great chance to learn how to cook cultural dishes while also getting a chance to enjoy them afterwards.
We are taking registrations for the first Kai and Korero, which is Indonesian Cuisine by Mini and Feni. This will be held on Saturday 3 September from 12.30 pm to 3.30 pm at the Food Factory, 11 Findlay Place, Stoke (behind Pics Peanut Butter).
This event will get our foodies in Nelson Tasman excited about learning some new ethnic dishes - and having a chat about the culture behind the chef at the same time.
The price is $30 per person which covers absolutely everything. Spaces are limited!
Email admin@multiculturalnt.co.nz for registration.
We will also have Arabic cuisine cooked by Mona on Saturday, 1 October and Moroccan cuisine by Latifa on Saturday 29 October.
Anti-racism and Allyship workshop
Around 25 people turned up on a stormy Saturday in August to attend a full-day workshop looking at practical aspects of anti-racism and allyship. It was facilitated by Jen Bennetts from Kind Mind Kai and organised by MNT with funding from Nelson City Council.
This further work in the anti-racism space follows on from the 10-week Tauiwi Tautoko programme which ran through April and June, and which supported volunteers to work against racialised hate in more online spaces – such as social media platforms.
It was heartening to see so many diverse people from our community willing to step forward and learn new ways of doing things, particularly around staying calm and being able to challenge the casual racism that can often take us by surprise when friends, family, colleagues or strangers come out with unexpected comments.
Knowing what to say on the spot so that people do not think we’re in agreement with their views can be hard, especially if we want to stay in relationship with that person.
Here are just a few tips from Jen that you might want to try next time you feel stuck:
Use an ‘I’ (rather than “youâ€) statement to convey disapproval or discomfort
“Actually, I don’t hold the same view at all…I think that…â€
Acknowledge feelings and reactions, “Hmm, I’m really reacting to what you’ve just said there†... let them know how the joke or comment makes you feel.
Maintain curiosity– “Tell me more about why you think that?â€
Or sometimes, you may just have to name it… “Hey mate, that’s racism…straight up!â€
In some cases, you will need to report it and offer support to a victim, in an emergency call 111, to report to the police in a non-emergency use 105. You can also report to the Speak Out Nelson Tasman (SONT) website.
We hope to run more workshops like this over the year, so please get in touch if you want to put your name down on a waiting list for these.
Save the dates for our next big events
We are planning our big events for 2023 and are so excited to announce the dates for Tasman Asian Night Food Fair and Multicultural Festival.
Tasman Asian Night Food Fair will be held on Saturday, 11 February 2023 from 4 pm to 9 pm at the Washbourn Gardens Richmond. If you would like to have your stall or would like to perform at the event, please be in touch.
The Multicultural Festival will be held on Sunday, 19 March 2023 at the Founders Heritage Park, Nelson. We also invite all the food vendors, information stalls and performers to join us this time.
The Multicultural Football Tournament will also take place on 18 and 19 March at Neale Park (with the finals running at the same time as the Multicultural Festival) and we encourage all our communities to put a team together and take part. This year we had 10 teams registered for both the social and competitive leagues 7 a-side games.
The registrations will open soon, so please WATCH THIS SPACE!
  
Celebrating World Refugee Day 2022
On World Refugee Day (20 June) we went around some local primary schools to gift them a copy of a lovely picture book called “The Voyage†by Robert Vescio. Told only with one word per page, it is the story of a family fleeing war and making a dangerous trip across the ocean to a new life in a new land.
Here we are with Brenda Black at Nelson Central School. Brenda is already a big fan of this lovely book and was happy to receive a copy for the school.
Cross-Cultural Awareness Workshops
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.
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.
If you would like to organise a workshop for your organisation or you would like to attend a public workshop, please email to admin@multiculturalnt.co.nz
MNT at Volunteer Expo 2022
Our team took part in the Volunteer Expo which was held in June at the Annesbrook church and conference centre. It was a great chance to meet a wide range of people and discuss our organisation and volunteer opportunities. If you would also like to be a volunteer for Multicultural Nelson Tasman, please email: admin@multiculturalnt.co.nz. Most of our opportunities at present involve helping with some of our big summer festivals.
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