On Saturday 30 April, W.H.O (Women of Hope: Helping Ourselves) invited Ranui residents and others to a celebration in the newly renovated Ranui Community Centre. Beginning with a processional dance by Congolese and Burundi women, the evening continued with a PowerPoint presentation of their activities so far (gardening, driving lessons, establishing a play centre for the […]
Ika- the restaurant with a difference
May 18, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Ika is the Maori word for fish, and Ika serves very good fish, from sustainable sources.. Ika also serves olives and wine and some vegetables from an organic property on Waiheke. But even more important, Ika pays its staff a living wage – the only restaurant we know of that does so. Laila Harre and her […]
The Auckland Writers’ Festival…
May 18, 2016 by Leave a Comment
…last weekend, offered an abundance of wonderful literature read by authors and others, and some excellent interviews and presentations. We indulged ourselves this year, going to nine sessions together and a couple separately. We’re filled with admiration at the efficiency of organisation, fine sound systems, diversity of literature.. The most wonderful session for us was Spirit House: Foreign Soil, a […]
The 1980s – the forgotten decade that changed NZ forever
May 18, 2016 by Leave a Comment
On Tuesday 17 May, Charmaine spoke at one of Ika’s Salon evenings… Laila Harre, the owner of Ika Bar and Grill, asked Charmaine to describe some of the huge changes in Auckland and Aotearoa in the 1980s, their effect on her personally and politically, and on the students and staff of Auckland Girls’ Grammar School […]
In Plain Sanskrit
April 19, 2016 by Leave a Comment
A most amazing dance performance, with chanting and taiko drumming, had six of us mesmerised on Saturday 9 April. We took our Japanese guests Alex and Tomoko, and our Congolese friends Lema and Amani, to this fundraiser for Shakti at Q Theatre, put on by Karma Dance Australia. The two dancers, Raina Peterson and Govind […]
Te Ara Reo Maori
April 19, 2016 by 2 Comments
Both of us love watching Maori Television. The channel offers more local content than any other (82% compared with 51 per cent for TV One and 50 per cent of TV3’s prime time hours, less on other channels) and the largest number of documentaries- 555 hours in the last year. And although many programmes in te reo are sub-titled in […]
Learning Our History
April 19, 2016 by 1 Comment
Our congratulations to those in schools and in the media who are challenging historical ignorance in order to promote greater understanding and cooperation among Pakeha, Maori and other cultural groups. There are some fine, well-informed teachers, and some schools genuinely committed to a well-grounded education for being a New Zealander today. In particular, we want to draw attention to […]
Polynesian Panther Women
April 19, 2016 by Leave a Comment
On March 23, the Auckland Women’s Centre hosted a wonderful forum, “Women in the Polynesian Panthers and their Legacy”. It was deeply moving to hear three women speak about their experience of joining Polynesian Panthers to fight racism in Auckland in the 1970s. It was also inspiring to listen to the daughters of two former […]
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