Though still over a month to go, the Garden City has already started gearing up for the fourth celebration of Christchurch's Holi - the Festival of Colours. And the icing on the cake is, the event this time - being organised on March 4, Saturday, on the corner of Madras and Gloucester Streets (opposite Latimer Square) in Central City - will have free entry. Christchurch's new Crown company Otakaro Limited is one of the main sponsors of the event.
Read More2017 is the 120th anniversary of the birth of Rewi Alley, whose 60 years of work for the Chinese community has made him one of the most revered foreigners in China. To commemorate the occassion, the book written by his niece Philipa Reynolds in 1997, will be updated and republished by the Christchurch China Sister Cities Committee. More info can be sought from New Zealand China Friendship Society (nzchinasociety.org.nz).
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The Canterbury Migrants Centre in collaboration with Christchurch City Libraries and Christchurch City Council celebrated the Lunar New Year Family Fun Day on February 4 at the Halswell Centre. Apart from performances by the Qiao Yi Lion Dance Team and Kids Tibetan group dance, the day also witnessed a tea ceremony, Chinese Shuttecock (Jianzi), Chinese yo-yo, and Year of the Rooster arts and crafts.
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The two-day event was held at the City's Isaac Theatre Royal on January 16 and 17, and saw performances by the Wuhan Acrobatic Troupe, and Wuhan Opera and Dancing Theatre. More than 800 people attended the celebrations on the 16th including 13 mayors from various South Island councils. Minister Nicky Wagner and MPs Jian Yang and Maureen Pugh were also present. Consul General Jin Zhijian noted that the show was the first performance from China at the historic venue after the 2011 Earthquake. The event also celebrated the completion of 10 years of sister city relationship between Christchurch and Wuhan.
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Delia Richards, Liaison Manager for Filipino worker's Social Integration Programme at Canterbury Migrants Centre, and also the founder and President of the community organisation Philippine Culture and Sports, and Christchurch City Councillor Jimmy Chen (on right of Delia), kicking off preparations for Pistang Pilipino 2017 sa Christchurch (PPSC), on February 4.
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The health benefits of delicious Korean food were explained late last month at a "Learn from What You Eat" gathering at Hagley Community College. Pearl Park, who did most of the cooking with the assistance of Tenny Jang, explained that Korean food was basically very healthy. For example, Korea’s national dish, the highly spiced pickled cabbage, kimchi, helped increase digestion.
Read MoreAimed at three outcomes of Whanaungatanga — sense of belonging, Tūrangawaewae — a place for all to stand, and Whai wahitanga — participation; and in works for years, the final draft of the Christchurch Multicultural Strategy – Our Future Together, is all set to be adopted by the Christchurch City Council on February 9.
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In this holiday issue, we encapsulate the beauty, the history, and the issues across South Island. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and we have left areas around Kaikoura for obvious reasons, but readers may find the 69 pictures - from page 4 to page 15 - an useful aid to get the gist of Te Waipounamu. Yes, this is the Maori name of New Zealand's South Island, which means "the waters of greenstone".
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The Zimbabwe High Achievers Awards Dinner was held at Papanui Workingmen's Club in Christchurch November 19, 2016. The event was the first of its kind and was well attended with over140 people present. This event was sponsored by the New Zealand AIDS Foundation (NZAF)'s African Programme popularly known by its brand name Love Cover Protect (LCP).
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Presented in the Vietnamese language, the Plains FM96.9 radio programme “Nhip Cau Thong Tin” (“Making Connections”) provides the opportunity to obtain information on settling and integrating into a new country for Vietnamese people living in Canterbury, as well as possible immigrants still living Vietnam who are being given access to podcasts of the show. Some of them download the podcasts and listen to them in their own time.
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The South West Baptist Church in Christchurch had an amazing Christmas Grotto this time. Your newspaper shares some of its highlights. One picture is of the Church members singing Christmas carols.
Read MoreChina-NZ relations have grown impressively since the FTA of 2008; It's a comprehensive and strategic partnership now; Challenges on One China policy and South China Sea remains; Consulate General's office in Christchurch represents the Chinese Government in the South Island; The Chinese community in New Zealand doesn't face widespread discrimination; It's not racism. It's not a widespread problem. Just few cases here and there; We are concerned about the recent physical attacks on the Chinese community and want to see those cases dealt with promptly by the New Zealand Government organizations; It's in everyone’s interests to see more Chinese visitors coming to New Zealand and the New Zealand government has made it very clear that they welcome all foreign visitors including Chinese visitors here
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The occasion was the last meeting for the year 2016 for all advisors of the Philippines Community Support Services (PCSS) in Christchurch. Aside from the Ambassador addressing the gathering, Tara Ross of the University of Canterbury, also handed over the result of the UNESCO NZ research project to PCSS that looked into the information gaps of the Filipino migrants in Christchurch.
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Three place names in North Canterbury containing the word ‘n*****’ will be changed to reflect the offence caused by that word, Land Information Minister Louise Upston has announced. The new names will be listed in the Gazetteer, the official record of New Zealand place names, on December 15, 2016.
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Marking 70 years of something is no mean feat. Especially in the rapidly changing modern life with so many distractions all around. But Christchurch’s Annual Santa Parade achieved that on December 4. Though with time, the event has become more multicultural in nature, with Indian, Chinese, Nepalese and Fiji floats proving to be great crowd pullers.
Read MoreThe Migrant Times was launched in June. We have published 13 issues till now. Our aim has been to put in the mainstream - the issues, news, views, struggles, successes, and celebrations of the migrant communities in New Zealand. Below we recap what all we published in the year 2016.
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On December 3, 2016, Christchurch's annual Korean culture festival titled“Taste of Korea” was held at the City's Cathedral Square. Organised by the Korean Society of Christchurch, the K-Culture Festival is a good example of a migrant community sharing its unique culture with the local society as a way to maintain its roots and celebrate diversity and co-existence. This year’s event included a special guest performance from Seoul – The International Youth Arts Troupe – along with the traditional performances put on by members of the local Korean community to offer audiences a tantalising taste of Korean culture.
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Marlene Isaks has been the voice of Africans living in Canterbury for seven years through her programme, “African Flava”, which is broadcast fortnightly on the community radio station, Plains FM96.9. Born in South Africa, Marlene came to New Zealand with her parents 13 years ago and began the show in 2010 as “South African Flava”, when it was sponsored by Safari Meats.
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