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Rotorua Multicultural Council Inc

Objectives: 

1.    To support migrants and international students while they settle in Rotorua.
2.    To provide migrants and international students with opportunities to celebrate their cultures.
3.    To increase the understanding of the local community of the contributions that migrants and international students make to the Rotorua District.
4.    To build relationships between Māori and migrants and to develop the understanding of migrants of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

 

Physical Address: The Rotorua Arts Village, 1240 Hinemaru Street, Rotorua 3010

Mobile: 021 741 664
Email: exec.rmc@gmail.com

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Website

 

Executive Committee

Dr Margriet Theron ONZM, President, South Africa
Hari Chhagan, Vice-President, Gujarati, India
Ashley Perera, Treasurer, Sri Lanka
Emire Khan-Malak, Secretary, Te Arawa
Audrey Peters, Fiji
Farnoosh Arpanaei, Iran
Frank Grapl, Czech Republic and Ngati Pikiao
Jaya Sinha, Bengali, India
Lily Joy Al Omari, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines
Serene Leong, Malaysia
Shashi Patel, England
Yulima Tabares, Colombia

 

Staff
Executive Officer: Yumiko Kawano
Administrator: Leidy Monsalves
IT and Graphic Design: Valeria Liakovskaia

 

Programmes and Projects

Upcoming events are notified on the Multicultural Rotorua Facebook page. Please contact our Administrator on leidym.rmc@gmail.com for further information about our programmes and projects.

1.  Monthly Multicultural Lunches held in the Rotorua Library and hosted by a different country each month.
2.  Ethnic celebrations held at the Rotorua Thursday Night Market.
3.  Participation in Waitangi Day Celebrations.
4.  Annual ten-week Professional Speaking for Migrants courses.
5.  Ten-week Women’s Wellbeing Programme.
6.  Environmental Wellbeing projects.
7.  Participation in sport: football and tennis.
8.  Annual Rotary Multicultural Dinner.
9.  Projects with schools including Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Koutu, Kaingaroa Forest School, and Reporoa College.
10. Membership of the Rotorua Police Ethnic Advisory Board.
11. Orientation activities for international students at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology.
12. Workshops on Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
13. Relationships with Rotorua Lakes Council, Immigration NZ, Plunket, Parksyde Centre for Seniors, Rotorua Community Hospice, Family Focus, Te Tatau o Te Arawa, Rotary Clubs, Rotorua English Language Academy, and ethnic associations.
14.  Race Unity Speech Awards.
15.  He Kete Kotahi – He Whenu Maha; One Basket Many Strands Art Exhibition.

Funders

The funders of the Rotorua Multicultural Council are Lottery Grants, Rotorua Trust, BayTrust, Rotorua Lakes Council, Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, Rotorua Civic Arts Trust, Mokoia Community Association, Creative Communities Rotorua, Geyser Community Foundation, Ministry of Social Development, and Ministry of Ethnic Communities. 
 
 

About Rotorua

  • The population of the Rotorua District is about 79,000 of which about 52% are European, 31% Māori and 17% other ethnicities including Pasifika, Asian, Middle Eastern, African, and Latin American.
  • People from over 60 different ethnicities attend the events of the Rotorua Multicultural Council.
  • A welcoming spirit and manaakitanga (hospitality, kindness) have been part of the character of Rotorua since visitors first started arriving in the 1800s.
  • In 2017 Rotorua was officially declared the first city in New Zealand to become bilingual, meaning that both Te Reo Māori and English are seen in road and other signs and in the range of Māori community learning resources.
  • The city of Rotorua is nestled in an ancient caldera (volcanic crater) with Lake Rotorua at 300 metres above sea level. There are 16 lakes and three major rivers (Waikato, Kaituna, and Rangitaiki) accessible for public use. Geothermal fields with natural hot pools, spectacular geysers, and boiling mud pools attract visitors from all over the world. Beautiful native and exotic forests surround the city. Maximum temperatures vary between 22 and 26°C in summer and between 10 and 16°C in winter.
  • The main economic sectors and employers are forestry and wood processing, tourism, and agriculture. Scion, a government-owned research institute specialising in forestry, wood processing and the environment, employs over 300 science and corporate professionals.
  • Rotorua is one of the best places to enjoy a healthy, outdoor lifestyle. The lakes, rivers, forests, farmlands, and geothermal resources in our backyard support some of the most diverse and accessible recreational activities in the country. It is rated as one of the world’s best mountain biking destinations.
  • There are almost 50 schools in the Rotorua District, including Rotorua Boys’ High, Rotorua Girls’ High, Rotorua Lakes High, Western Heights High, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Koutu, and New Zealand’s top-performing Catholic school, John Paul College.
  • Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology has one of its two main campuses in Rotorua. Certificate, Diploma and Degree programmes are offered, including degrees in Nursing, Social Sciences, and Business Management.

Links

Rotorua NZ

Rotorua Lakes Council

Toi Ohomai - Te Pūkenga

Scion Research

 
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