The recently incorporated Canterbury Indian Community Centre Trust (CICCT) has started raising funds to make the dream of an Indian community centre in Christchurch a reality in the next two years. The Trust hit the ball rolling on April 8 in a specially organised ghazal and old Hindi melodious songs night, where the attendees were introduced to the objectives of CICCT by Ponnuram Venu Gopal, one of the its trustees.
Read MoreThe Canterbury Muslim Community Trust had organised a wonderful Islamic Arts exhibition in Christchurch South Library between April 2 and 9. We had also covered the story in our last issue. Below we present some out of the 53 displays in the four categories of architectural, decorative, calligraphy and textile arts.
Read MoreThe banner exhibition was displayed at the Christchurch City Council building depicting their life stories. It was commissioned by the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, and organised by the Foundation's Reserach Centre, and Rewi Alley Education and Cultural Centre.
Read MorePolice Commissioner Mike Bush on April 12, announced the numbers of new Police staff each district will get as part of the $388 million investment in Police announced by the Prime Minister in February 2017. The investment will see an increase of 880 sworn and 245 non-sworn staff over four years. Sworn staff will be recruited over the next four years from July 2017, with approximately 220 new additional recruits added per year. The first phase includes the recruitment of 220 constabulary staff. The first wing to include new recruits funded through the investment package, Wing 308, will start on July 10, 2017. These 80 recruits will graduate in October, 2017.
Read MoreWith the tagline as - investing and enabling New Zealand start-ups to succeed in China's market, and launched late last year, Zino Ventures marks the first Chinese Angel Fund in New Zealand. A brain-child of 18 Chinese entrepreneurs who have pooled together $2 million, the company aims to invest in up to 20 start-ups over the next three years.
Read More"Finding employment is a key part of the resettlement process. It gives former refugees financial independence and also offers them the opportunity to use their skills and contribute back to their community." - NZ Red Cross
Recognising this, the country's Red Cross runs a Pathways to Employment programme that helps former refugees plan their employment, education, training and career goals and ultimately find work.
Read MoreCartolina is a fortnightly programme on community radio station Plains FM96.9 that presents information on Italian culture and local events with Italian connections in the friendly, laid-back style of its producer, Wilma Laryn (see photo). The title, Cartolina, is Italian for Postcard, referring to the easy-going way of presenting the show’s message.
Read MoreOn April 8, the West African community organised an achievers award night attended by over 50 people. Dennis Agelebe, President of Nigerian Canterbury Association of New Zealand, noted the contributions of the African community in Christchurch and New Zealand. Jimmy Chen, Christchurch City Councillor, and Sally Pitama from Ngai Tahu, welcomed the African community to Christchurch. "Our aim is to acknowledge West Africans living in Canterbury that have performed exceptionally well in their field. We believe that by celebrating their hard work, future generation will be inspired to aim high in their endeavours. This will also promote our image in the wider society," noted the organisers.
Read MoreAs Chair of Christchurch City Council's Multicultural Working Party, it has been privilege to lead the development of the Multicultural Strategy for the past year. This strategy is also a commitment by the Council to support and embrace the diversity of the people in Christchurch. But in order to ensure the strategy deliver, we need to develop an action plan. We need to also monitor progress on this plan to ensure its success.
Read MoreHighlights: it's important to tell the story; we need to get the community and people more involved; all new anchor projects will be inclusive, will appeal to everyone and everybody; Christchurch will be the city of future; we encourage diversity of thoughts at Otakaro; diversity of cultures and migrants have been great for New Zealand
Read MoreChristchurch's rebuild after the 2011 earthquake got a major breakthrough last week with Regenerate Christchurch (RC) announcing Gerry Brownlee's - minister supporting Greater Christchurch Regeneration - approval for the company's approach for developing a Regeneration Plan for the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor. RC is a new entity, established in 2016 to lead the regeneration of Christchurch including the central city, residential red zone and the eastern New Brighton.
Read MoreA national summit on family violence will be hosted by Justice Minister Amy Adams and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley in Wellington on June 7. The Summit will support the work already underway as part of the Government’s family violence reforms, which includes the introduction of the Family and Whānau Violence Legislation Bill to overhaul the Domestic Violence Act and strengthen family violence laws. Family violence is a significant and complex issue in New Zealand, with Police responding to an incident every five minutes, and costing the country over $4 billion per year, noted the ministers while annoucing the summit.
Read MoreMinister for Children Anne Tolley officially launched the new Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki, on March 31. “This is the start of a four to five year major transformation programme to build a more child-centred care and protection system, focusing on harm and trauma prevention and early intervention, rather than crisis management. The Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki will also be a single point of accountability for children and young people where it will be easier for them to raise concerns or complaints. Children and young people will also have access to a new independent advocacy service, VOYCE – Whakarongo Mai," noted Anne Tolley.
Read MoreTwo migrant drivers based in Christchurch can now claim they are among the country’s best, after winning the top two awards at Go Bus Transport’s Bus Roadeo at the Airforce Museum in Christchurch on Saturday March 11. Raymund Llamas, who is from the Philippines and has driven buses in his home country and in Dubai, was named Go Bus Driver of the Year, and Arvinder Singh from India, won the runner-up.
Read MoreStaff at tertiary education institutions are experiencing higher levels of stress, unsustainable workloads and are feeling more alienated from their jobs compared to a decade ago, according to a report published recently by the Tertiary Education Union. Titled Education Under Pressure, the report adds "increased pressure on staff to change grades, dedicate less time to teaching and change admission rules, all of which lead to lower education outcomes for students".
Read MoreEric Chuah, former head of migrant banking with ANZ, has launched Cultural Connections, New Zealand’s first social enterprise to specialise in researching migrants, is calling all migrants to join its research panels and in doing so help the country’s multicultural community groups flourish.
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