Community News and Events

Stay connected with what’s happening in our communities. Here you’ll find updates, opportunities, and events that support belonging, celebrate diversity, and strengthen connections across Aotearoa. These updates are also shared in our newsletter — sign up to stay informed and never miss out.

Malu Malo-Fuiava 04/05/2022 Malu Malo-Fuiava 04/05/2022

Episode 1 #PassTheMic: Climate Justice & finding yourself as a migrant

Pok Wei Heng is a climate change consultant by day, working on regenerative cities centred on learning from indigenous wisdom, and a climate justice advocate by night. Pok recently moved to New Zealand from Singapore and is passionate about decolonisation, exploring Asian identity, connecting climate justice with diversity, equity and inclusion work. In this episode we discuss the pros and cons of collectivism, migrant relationships with Te Tiriti and Māori, allyship, finding your place as a recent migrant and climate change.

Malu Malo-Fuiava 04/05/2022 Malu Malo-Fuiava 04/05/2022

Episode 3 #PassTheMic: African representation, poetry and hot takes

Vira Paky is a young Congolese-Kiwi-South African woman. She is a Chairperson of the New Zealand National Refugee Youth Council, which advocates for, engages & supports refugee background youth around Aotearoa New Zealand. Vira is an outstanding poet who writes about intersections of feminism, race, African identity and many other poignant topics. In this episode we talk about Vira’s poetry, being true to her voice, black-kiwi representation in New Zealand, what it means to be an advocate in this day and age plus Vira's “hot take” about young people and the future.

Malu Malo-Fuiava 04/05/2022 Malu Malo-Fuiava 04/05/2022

Episode 4 #PassTheMic: Mental gymnastics of being a woman of colour

This conversation is with Maria Khaydar. She is a self-described “capitalist girl-boss by day and anarchist by night”. Maria currently works in the tech industry and is actively involved in amplifying ethnic voices and advocating for refugee and asylum seeker rights. We talk about her Syrian-Azeri-Russian identity and expectations that come with that mix. We discuss the way we police ourselves as women of colour and reject the notion of being a trail-blazer.