Western Bay of Plenty is celebrating cultural diversity.
March 13 – 27 is set to showcase western Bay of Plenty’s multicultural communities and its support in welcoming newcomers to the sub-region.
The initiative also coincides with Race Relations Day on 21 March and commemoration of 15 March Christchurch attacks.
In Tauranga, approximately one in five people are born overseas, and as the western Bay of Plenty is growing and changing, this is reflected in its increasingly diverse population.
“Cities like Tauranga have become multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-faith communities,” said the chair of the Tauranga Moana Interfaith Council, John Hebenton.
“The mosque attacks last year show us that inclusive communities are not always an easy thing to create and discrimination based on ignorance can easily turn to violence.
“It takes time and effort to overcome our lack of knowledge and support inclusion and understanding of diversity.”
The Interfaith Council will be running religious diversity and anti-discrimination workshops with the University of Waikato and Welcoming Communities on 13 and 14 March.
“We hope this course will help us all look at what we assume is normal and learn about all the groups that make up our city, so that we can create welcoming communities in which all can thrive,” said John.
In its 21st year, the Tauranga Multicultural Festival, organised by Multicultural Tauranga will bring residents together to celebrate diversity through music, dance, art and plenty of food. The festival will be held on Sunday, 22 March from 10am – 5pm at The Historic Village, with a gold coin entry fee.
“The Multicultural Festival allows communities from the wider Bay of Plenty and surrounding regions, plus visitors from other cities to celebrate Tauranga’s commitment to diversity and social cohesion,” said Multicultural Tauranga, vice-president Premila D’Mello.
Discovery tents will provide an opportunity for visitors to experience different cultures through interactive activities, alongside free children’s activities.
There will be a free Park N’Ride service operated by Uzabus with stops at the following locations.
Find out about workshops and events for the upcoming Celebrating Cultural Diversity 13 – 27 March 2020 on our website.