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Nineteen - Without borders: community development, biculturalism and multiculturalism
- Edited by Gary Craig
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- Book:
- Community Organising against Racism
- Published by:
- Bristol University Press
- Published online:
- 12 April 2022
- Print publication:
- 22 November 2017, pp 311-326
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- Chapter
- Export citation
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Summary
E ngā mana, e ngā reo e ngā karangatanga maha, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. (All authorities, all voices, all the many alliances and affiliations, greetings)
Traditional formal welcome in Te Reo Māori
Today, Aotearoa /New Zealand is considered one of the most multicultural countries on the planet. The 2013 census revealed that ‘New Zealand has more ethnicities than there are countries in the world. In total, 213 ethnic groups were identified in the census, whereas there are 196 countries recognised by Statistics New Zealand’ (Minson, 2013).
Sitting alongside that increasingly diverse reality is the Treaty of Waitangi's fiercely-guarded commitment to biculturalism, deeply woven into the fibre of everyday life and thinking. Tiriti o Waitangi sets out the ‘negotiated’ agreements, rights and status of the indigenous peoples of Aotearoa/New Zealand (Māori) and the responsibilities and gifted status of the Crown and its subjects (British settlers/ Pākehā).
This chapter shares some of the issues, experiences, questions and practice implications arising for me, the author, a mixed-race, British-born community development practitioner and social work educator living in Aotearoa. I have sought better to understand the issues and questions regarding the coexistence of biculturalism and multiculturalism; I have sought to question what it might be that we separately and collectively need to do in order to move forward with respect and inclusivity.
Through many years’ experience of working in and alongside diverse communities in the UK, exploring models of community engagement and conflict resolution, I had become convinced that the transformation of hearts and minds occurred through the witnessing of personal narratives and through participation in dynamic and reflective techniques used to reduce prejudice and discrimination. Creating bridges to sustain connection across difference appeared to be a central strategy for increased cohesion and equality in those communities. Given the Aotearoan statistical picture, surely it must follow that strategies for managing diversity and promoting connection need to be an increasing reality for those who work in and alongside communities here?
It is this conviction of the power of narrative, this curiosity, this passion and deep resonance with a transformative praxis that continues to assist my and others’ liberation, and it is that brings me to this page, to these words and to this hope-filled curiosity shared here.