New Zealand’s multicultural, multi-religious, multi-ethnic society is worth celebrating with a Te Tiriti-based public holiday says Multicultural New Zealand (MNZ) president Pancha Narayanan. We’re a multicultural nation At present, 28 percent of us identify as coming from a non-European migrant background Narayanan says. A 2021 MNZ initiative has already seen Multicultural Councils across the country Read more
The NSW government is planning to set up a specialist religious advisory council. It made the decision after the pandemic underscored the importance of closing cultural divides in Sydney. The Religious Communities Advisory Council will advise on and address safety and security concerns around churches and mosques, and engage with multi-faith communities. The Council and Read more
As we took the field to defend 15 in the super over in the World Cup final last summer, Jos Buttler told me he hoped I had a couple of shamrocks in my pocket. I laughed, and turned to Adil Rashid: “Allah’s with us, isn’t he?” Rash agreed he was. Later, at the end of Read more
Wellington’s mayor is calling for Matariki to become a public holiday. Justin Lester is suggesting the Māori New Year could replace the Queen’s Birthday holiday, which was not meaningful for many who saw it as just a day off. Last year Wellington City Council cancelled its 2018 Guy Fawkes Sky Show, moving the fireworks display Read more
A recent meeting in Manila focused on the theme of “building community in an intercultural world.” In her opening remarks, International Union of Superiors General (UISG), President Sr. Carmen Sammut spoke about how Religious congregations are changing. Communities in Europe, America and Australia are shrinking, with more younger members coming from Africa and Asia. Cultural Read more
Auckland’s third new Hindu temple this year will open in Henderson next month. Community worker Pravin Patel said there were now 17 Hindu temples across Auckland. The city’s Hindu adherents increased by more than any other religion between the 2006 and 2013 censuses, from 45,324 to 61,458, and are now 4.3 per cent of all Read more
Fiji’s Prime Minister Rear Admiral (Ret) Voreqe Bainimarama officiated at a pre Diwali event at Lautoka on Saturday night and reflected on the significance of the festival of lights. “Most Fijians share a sense of excitement and goodwill about Diwali, no doubt looking forward to a feast of splendid lights, and of course to those Read more
A study carried published by the Centre for Applied Cross-cultural Research of Victoria University in Wellington New Zealand in 2013 reveals that a significantly higher proportion agreed that, “It is a good thing for any society to be made up of different races, religions and cultures”, compared with similar surveys conducted in in Australia and 15 Read more
For seven years, Barry Lowe’s parents refused to meet his partner, Sue Pearl. His father had migrated to New Zealand from China in the late 30s and ran a fruit shop with Barry’s grandfather. He brought his wife and an infant Barry over from Hong Kong in the 1950s. They rejected Sue out of fear Read more
New Stations of the Cross to reflect the parishes’ multicultural community have been installed in the recently renovated church of St Anne’s parish in the suburb of Newtown, Wellington The Stations of the Cross represent 14 different communities: Māori, Samoan, Rwandan, Goan, Croatian, Cook Island, Irish, Scottish, Filipino, Hungarian, Tokelauan, Polish, Kerala and Tongan. Each Read more