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Keeping the Faith: Religious Trends in the Waikato

12 October 2007

Keeping the Faith: Religious Trends in the Waikato

An important community exhibition and education programme on religious diversity in the Waikato opens at the Waikato Museum today. The exhibition focuses on nine religious groups that are either part of significant religious trends or key historical players in the Waikato, or that have made a unique impact on the 'spiritual landscape' of the region.

Through objects, photography, music and film, the exhibition explores the region’s religious diversity, and aims to encourage a climate of mutual respect in the community. The exhibition is accompanied by an educational programme on religious diversity for schools, and a series of panel discussions on the Statement on Religious Diversity, religion and schools, religious themes in art, and the future of religion and belief in New Zealand.

The exhibition was opened by Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres, who said that it was taking place in a year that had already been very significant for religious diversity in New Zealand and internationally:

• The Statement on Religious Diversity had been endorsed by the National Interfaith Forum in Hamilton in February and had received subsequent support from a wide range of religious groups. It continues to be used as a framework for discussing religious diversity and human rights.

• The Prime Minister hosted a high level international symposium in Auckland in May on the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations report, which offers a positive alternative to the dangerous notion of a Clash of Civilisations between Christianity and Islam. The symposium emphasised the importance of school and community education and the media to provide an accurate picture of other peoples, religions and cultures.

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• The New Zealand government was also host to the third Asia Pacific regional dialogue on interfaith cooperation at Waitangi at the end of May. This included faith community representatives from 15 South East Asian and Pacific nations. The resulting Waitangi Action Plan focused on actions relating to youth, education and the media, as well as strengthening cooperation between governments and faith communities.

• The New Zealand Diversity Forum in Auckland in August included a forum on religion in schools, which focused on the new school curriculum due to be released in November. The curriculum will include a strong emphasis on cultural diversity, including the diversity of religious belief. The forum identified the need for this to be supported by good educational resources.

• At the beginning of October, the General Assembly of the United Nations held its first ever formal, high-level dialogue on issues of interreligious and intercultural understanding and cooperation, including freedom of religion and belief and the need for respect for a diversity of religions and cultures.

• The President of the General Assembly, Srgjan Kerim, called for this dialogue to continue in communities and neighbourhoods throughout the world. He said: “By convening this event, the General Assembly has taken an important stand. We are reaffirming the values enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But more importantly, we are taking concrete steps to advance these values around the world”.

• UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon stressed the need to promote the idea that differences among people, far from being a threat, are what enrich humanity as a whole. He pointed out that in today's era of global travel and instant satellite transmissions, people everywhere are encountering “less of the familiar, and more of 'the other,’” leading to increased tensions among cultures and religions. In light of that trend, he said: “It is time -- indeed, it is past time -- for a constructive and committed dialogue; a dialogue amongst individuals, amongst communities, and between nations”.

Mr de Bres said that the Waikato Museum Exhibition, opening in the week following this United Nations call for more information and dialogue at the community level, was an excellent example of the practical action being sought. It was also totally consistent with the measures suggested by the Statement on Religious Diversity, the Alliance of Civilisations symposium, the Waitangi Interfaith Dialogue, and the New Zealand Diversity Forum.

Hamilton, like other cities, is not immune from religious prejudice and even instances of hate crime, such as the recent painting of graffiti on the local mosque.

“The Museum has an excellent tradition of using its creative resources and facilities to promote tolerance and to give voice, visibility and recognition to the diverse communities in the Waikato region, as for example with the 2006 photographic exhibition of the Somali community and associated events. Museums are important institutions in fostering awareness and appreciation of the diversity of our community, and this exhibition keeps the Waikato Museum at the forefront of museums in accepting that challenge.”

Like many other museums, the Waikato Museum is a participant in the New Zealand Diversity Action Programme facilitated by the Human Rights Commission, which now comprises more than 200 organisations. The Keeping the Faith exhibition is registered as a project with the Diversity Action Programme.

Mr de Bres acknowledged the support of the Todd Foundation, who have dedicated more than quarter of a million dollars from their Centenary Fund to arts and cultural heritage projects this year that promote tolerance and build understanding of our cultural diversity. The Waikato Museum exhibition is one of five projects selected by the Foundation to benefit from the funding. The others are a Treasures and Tales exhibition and events at the Auckland Museum, the development of a Maori and Polynesian room at the Carter Observatory, the Around the World in 30 Lounges exhibition at the Canterbury Museum and the associated Community Cultural Diversity programme at the Christchurch Art Gallery.

ENDS

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