We have four focus areas, which are the key planks that support our Purpose and contribute towards fulfilment of the Vision. The focus areas are our ‘intermediate outcomes’ selected to support and deliver on our Purpose and Vision. While work programme items may vary from year to year and are reviewed annually, the focus areas are more enduring – and provide a multi-year framing for our work. The 2016/2017 work programme is at the end of this document.
The Office of Ethnic Communities' Vision - our highest ideal – is that New Zealand is a thriving nation (culturally, economically and socially) comprised of socially cohesive communities where mutual respect and understanding is the norm. This sentiment is captured in our Vision statement:
The Office of Ethnic Communities Operating Model is a framework to help bring clarity, simplicity and focus to our work.
The model provides a structure to identify and communicate what we do and why. It provides a framework of how we focus and prioritise our work, and identifies our approach to delivering value.
New Zealand now has over 200 distinct ethnic communities. 'New Zealand has more ethnicities than the world has countries'. Based on current trends and projections, we will continue to become more ethnically diverse as our population grows. The overall ethnic make-up of our population is also set to shift significantly over coming years.
“Flourishing Ethnic Diversity; thriving New Zealand” is the guiding vision for the work of the Office of Ethnic Communities. A plan to achieve this vision is established through our operating model which is described in more detail in this document. Achieving flourishing ethnic diversity for a thriving New Zealand means working strategically and in partnership with communities.
New Zealand has a proud history as a nation that is welcoming of diversity. Māori, our first peoples began this tradition in a formal sense in 1840 by entering into a partnership through Te Tiriti o Waitangi with representatives of the Crown. Since then we have welcomed people from all corners of the world.
It has been a month of significant events around the world that should cause us to stop and think about diversity in New Zealand. I’m referring to the Brexit vote in the UK, the shootings of citizens and police officers in the United States, and to the recent carnage in Nice, France, and elsewhere.
Anthropologist, Sophie-Claire Violette, a recent migrant to Ashburton from Mauritius says that the aim of the recently opened outdoor exhibition Crossing the Bridge was to explore what it means to be a migrant in rural New Zealand.
The exhibition features 22 portraits of individuals from different places of origin - each accompanied by a visual diary of their daily lives and personal reflections on identity in their new environment.
