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What's next after Auckland Ethnic Engagement Summit

The first of three Ethnic Communities Engagement Summits was held in Auckland on 30 April.  
 
The summit was organised as a practical response to one of the recommendations in ‘Our Multicultural Future’, a report published by Multicultural NZ, to provide an opportunity for real dialogue, and real engagement with one another and with our wider community on the issues we face in Aotearoa, .
 
It was also an opportunity for Multicultural NZ to demonstrate the value of collaborating with other community organisations (Hui E! Community Aotearoa, the Migrant Action Trust, and the Auckland Ethnic Peoples Advisory Panel) to achieve collective outcomes.
 
We wanted the forum to be informative, participatory and engaging. This we achieved with robust and engaging discussions following a critical, “no holds barred” opening speech from Auckland's Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse and Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy. Please click here for the link to her speech.
 
People left the forum with a renewed sense of solidarity with other ethnic peoples, and a desire to further explore how they can contribute and add value to the community and to the nation.
 
As one of the participants said, “I have learnt a little more about Treaty of Waitangi and the history of the land that I’m living in, I think I understand the values and identities of different ethnic communities better than I did at 9 O’clock this morning.”
 
Moving forward from the Auckland summit, MNZ will be working in collaboration with other organisations on three action points from the many issues raised on the day, namely:
 
-          to promote ways in which the Treaty can be made meaningful to communities rather than theoretical and academic, to give newcomers an insight into the history of Tangata Whenua and to foster an understanding of their respective values, beliefs, and cultures through orientation programmes on arrival.
-          engage with the NZ Herald to consider developing an engagement strategy in order to encourage balanced reporting and articles about ethnic communities, and increase the ethnic diversity of their staff.
-          Organise an Ethnic Youth Hui.

The next summit will be held in Wellington on Saturday 28 May. Click here to register for the Wellington Summit.
 
Here is some media coverage from the Auckland summit:
http://asiapacificreport.nz/2016/04/30/mainstream-nz-media-takes-pasting-at-multicultural-seminar/ 
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/nz-attitudes-improving-on-ethnic-diversity/
http://asiapacificreport.nz/2016/05/01/images-ethnic-communities-engage-lets-develop-and-grow/

 
 
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