Celebrating Living Together

Poetry crosses all boundaries, including age, gender, ethnicity and culture. […]

Again, our annual celebration of poetry has broken all records, with more than 150 events and competitions scheduled to take place nationwide. Expect #NZPoetryDay to trend on Twitter and people to greet each other in the streets saying, happy poetry day.’

Held every year on the fourth Friday in August, Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day unites poetry fans from all over Aotearoa in an action-packed programme of poetry slams and rap, open mic and spoken word performances, pop-up events, book launches, readings and competitions.

This year’s celebration will be visible in communities all over Aotearoa – from pavements and public transport to parks, beaches, cafés, bars, bookshops, schools, university campuses, libraries, RSAs, community centres, marae and more. Many of the programmed events will be open to the public and free to enjoy. […]

Established in 1997, National Poetry Day is a popular fixture on the nation’s cultural calendar and one that celebrates discovery, diversity and community.

“Celebrating the unifying power of poetry”, Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day, the New Zealand Book Awards Trust and Sarah Thornton, The Big Idea, 2019.

The Speech Awards […] are a platform for senior high school students to express their ideas on how we can improve race relations in Aotearoa¹. The Speech Awards give eloquent and thoughtful young people a chance to speak their minds and give the rest of New Zealand a chance to listen to the leaders of tomorrow. The Speech Awards are held in support of Race Relations Day.

“The Race Unity Speech Awards and Hui are initiatives of the New Zealand Baha’i Community”, Raceunity.nz.

In fact, nine out of ten migrants find the welcome they receive meets or exceeds their expectations, according to a recent Immigration New Zealand survey. […]

Nine councils across five regions are working with their communities to pilot Welcoming Communities, which puts out the welcome mat to newcomers – recent migrants, former refugees and international students. […]

The spirit of welcome runs deep here. Māori have a word for it – Manaakitanga. Loosely translated as hospitality, Manaakitanga sums up the act of welcoming and looking after guests.

The idea is that by offering hospitality, generosity and mutual respect everyone involved comes out better off.

“A warm welcome, New Zealanders open their hearts to newcomers”, New Zealand Immigration, NewZealandnow.govt.nz.