Winners of 2009 Diversity Action awards announced

Winners of 2009 Diversity Action awards announced

 Twelve organisations have received awards from the Human Rights Commission in recognition of their outstanding contribution to positive race relations. The awards night was held at the 2009 New Zealand Diversity Forum in Wellington on Monday.

The winners were selected from over 200 organisations participating in the New Zealand Diversity Action Programme, facilitated by the Human Rights Commission.
 

2009 Diversity Award winners are:

Manurewa Marae

An important cultural and community centre and safe haven for Manurewa’s multi-ethnic community. Community classes are held at the marae, including te reo, kapa haka, tai chi, korowai and health education, Mana Wahine and Mana Tane days, Matariki, and Manurewa Ora day, focusing on health and social services. The Human Rights Commission’s annual Race Relations Report was launched at the marae in March.
 

New Coasters

New Coasters was developed in 2008 to assist newcomers settle into the West Coast and support them as they begin their new lives. They organised the first Race Relations Day family picnic on the Coast in March. Recently, New Coasters worked with children from Blaketown Primary School to produce a set of booklets written by children for children, introducing the Coast to new migrants.

PEETO - The Multicultural Learning Centre

PEETO is a multicultural learning centre, built on the principles of Aiga (family). PEETO works with migrants and refugees, with services such as orientation programmes, education and numeracy programmes, an employment service and driver education. The trust has sponsored individuals and groups whose activities help to enrich the multicultural flavour of Christchurch.

Nelson Multicultural Council

The council organises social activities and support services for new migrants, including multicultural groups, a newcomers’ network, and public events, such as the Race Unity Festival on Race Relations Day. They produced the booklet Useful Tips for Migrants and an educational DVD for former refugee families on child nutrition and oral health. They were also one of the driving forces behind the landmark report on racist incidents in Nelson, launched in August 2009. 

FAGASA

Faalapotopotoga mo le Aoaoina o le Gagana Samoa i Aotearoa is the Association for the Teaching of Samoan in Aotearoa. They have succeeded in raising the profile of the Samoan language and community significantly. Their projects include the Samoan Language Secondary Schools Speech contest and observance of Samoan Language Week in May. This year, FAGASA was instrumental in helping extend participation in Samoan Language Week from schools to the wider community. 

Centre for Asian Health Research and Evaluation, University of Auckland

The centre has organised three major international conferences on Asian health and well-being and is planning a fourth one in July 2010. Current research projects include Asian families’ settlement in New Zealand, lifestyle and mental health issues, the Asian stream of the obesity guidelines, a service to work with refugee youth recovering from mental health issues, and impacts of work experiences of Asian immigrants on family well-being.

Umma Trust

The small community trust focuses on enhancing the well-being of Muslim women, children and families who are socially and economically disadvantaged. The trust’s services include advice, advocacy, referrals, positive parenting, community awareness of family violence, positive ageing, women in isolation, home visits, a food bank, and health and nutrition workshops. They organised a professional development workshop on “working with Muslim families”, which attracted over 300 people.

Whanganui Regional Museum

The museum is a unique partnership between local iwi and community stakeholders. Recent exhibitions have included Te Pihi Mata, The Sacred Eye, which displays photographs of Whanganui iwi taken by WHT Partington from 1892-1908. The exhibition won the inaugural Museums Aotearoa Exhibition/Visitor Achievement Award in 2008. Another exhibition describes the development of the Whanganui region during the 19th century through experiences of tangata whenua and European settlers.

Wellington City Libraries, Wellington City Council

The Wellington City Libraries network’s information services include migrant web pages in 21 languages; library catalogue searching in Chinese, Māori and Samoan; and Press Display international and national newspapers online. At this year’s Diversity Forum, they launched the DVD Our Place, Your Place, about Wellington's Muslim communities and the libraries. Another library initiative, now nationwide, is the Race Relations Day “Earth People” project, where children make clay figures and talk about their diversity.

New Zealand Chinese Association Auckland Inc
The Auckland branch of the association holds regular activities, ranging from sport tournaments and Chinese New Year celebrations to youth leadership and cultural storytelling conferences. They hold an annual Going Bananas conference, exploring what it means to be Chinese in New Zealand. The association is working with Auckland City Libraries to establish an interactive website to connect different generations of Chinese New Zealanders.

Omega

The collaborative organisation Opportunities for Migrant Employment in Greater Auckland provides programmes to help migrants break through the barriers new Kiwis face. They match migrants in occupation-specific mentoring with professionals in Auckland who share the same skills and industry knowledge. Their paid internship programme provides migrants with up to six months’ experience to help combat the “no Kiwi experience = no job” cycle.

The British Council received a special award for their contribution to Race Relations Day and the flagship event People in Your Neighbourhood.

To see last year’s Diversity Awards winners, or find out more about the Diversity Action Programme, visit our website: www.hrc.co.nz.

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