Venu Menon
Wellington, April 29,2024
Wellington reinforced its standing as the multicultural capital of New Zealand with a captivating display of dance and music from different parts of the world, symbolising the diversity and inclusiveness of Aotearoa.
The Multicultural Council of Wellington marked Race Relations Day 2024 by hosting an event on April 27 that featured Wellingtonians of different ethnicities performing the dances that epitomised the culture of their native countries, under the theme: “Building safer and united communities together.”
The Johnsonville Community Centre came alive with colourful costumes and evocative music that transported the audience on a cultural journey across continents, demonstrating yet again that New Zealand was a melting pot of diverse ethnic communities coming together to achieve a rare and momentous cultural synergy.
Rachel Qi, president, Multicultural Council of Wellington, welcomed the audience, which included dignitaries Sir Anand Satyanand, former Governor General of New Zealand, Greg O’Connor, MP for Ohariu, Jane Connolly, Ambassador of Ireland to New Zealand and Ray Chung, Wellington City Councillor.
Sir Anand Satyanand predicted that the latest census results would confirm the growing population trend among Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and African communities in New Zealand.
Satyanand recited lines from a popular song composed by the Maori Anglican cleric Rev. Canon Wi Huata that served as a reminder that New Zealanders belonged to a “multicultural, multi-dimensional country.”
He concluded with a quote from Nelson Mandela, who advocated the need “to tap into the energies of all the sectors of society, to explore the breadth and depths of the energies residing in civil society.”
Mandela, Satyanand informed the audience, had called on a “spirit of partnership” as a means of forging unity across social divides.
Labour Party MP Greg O’Connor drew attention to the legacy of Anzac, which marked New Zealand’s growth as a country. “It’s the first time we ever fought overseas as a country under our own flag,” he said, adding, “Until then, we have always fought under the Union Jack.”
New Zealand was a part of the British Isles at that stage, he noted. Today, the country was defined by its multicultural identity.
“We are a mosaic. We are a melting pot, but also we are a growing young nation represented by so many different groups, certainly more than we did 100 years ago,” O’Connor observed.
Irish Ambassador to New Zealand Jane Connally, who was also a patron of the Multicultural Council of Wellington, opened her remarks in what she described as Ireland’s “indigenous language.” She said the theme of this year’s Race Relations Day resonated very strongly in today’s world, which was “increasingly polarised.”
“We are only stronger and safer when we come together, when we support differences, when we support each other, and also when we learn from each other,” Connally noted.
The envoy recalled being born in an Ireland that had a single culture, which had since transformed into “a hugely multicultural place” and a more outward-looking, dynamic country, one that was surer of its place in the world.
“Ireland is a better and stronger country because of its multiculturalism,” Ambassador Connally concluded.
Wellington City Councillor Ray Chung noted that 25 % of New Zealand’s population comprised different ethnicities. “So it’s extremely important that we understand exactly what it is that we need to do to make the people comfortable and welcome in this city,” he added.
Chung referenced the Ethnic Advisory Committee, voted into being by the City Council two weeks ago.
“I hear so often that we are a bicultural city, but we are actually multicultural,” Chung remarked, and urged people to come forward and speak their minds to the city council.
The speeches were followed by a cultural programme that highlighted the colourful multicultural tapestry of New Zealand.
Venu Menon is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Wellington
