FGS South Island’s Participation in a "Meeting to Exchange Views with the Ethnic Communities" Organised by the Ministry for Ethnic Communities NZ
The Ministry for Ethnic Communities of New Zealand held a meeting to exchange views with New Zealand's Ethnic Communities at the Christchurch Town Hall on 27th July 2021, mainly to listen to the voices of all ethnic groups in the society and to understand the problems and needs the groups face in life. This was the first political meeting in New Zealand's history to be attended by people of all ethnicities, including people from the Middle East, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Fo Guang Shan (FGS) South Island was one of the organisations invited to the meeting and it was represented by Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island President Bernie and Director Kok Wei Low. In all, the meeting was attended by more than 100 people from various associations and organizations.
At this meeting, the Government of New Zealand was represented by the Minister for Ethnic Communities, Hon Priyanca Radhakrishnan: the Chief Executive of the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, Mervin Singham: the Mayor of Christchurch, Lianne Dalziel； and Christchurch Member of Parliament for the Ilam, Sarah Pallet.
At the meeting, Minister Hon Priyanca explained the functions of the Ministry, highlighting the importance the Government attaches to all ethnic groups. Other than the main ethnic communities, the various minority ethnic groups collectively account for 20% of New Zealand's population. Using more than 160 languages, there are more than 213 ethnic groups in New Zealand and they play an important role in the social development of the country. For this reason, the Government will increase the development funds for ethnic communities by 8 times. The Minister stated that the objectives of establishing the Ministry for Ethnic Communities are:
1. To make efforts to enhance the social value of the diverse ethnic groups, and to ensure equal opportunities and resources are given to them:
2. To ensure that all ethnic groups are treated fairly;
3. To assist all ethnic groups to improve their economic and employment status;
4. To foster and strengthen closer relationships among all ethnic groups.
After the meeting, FGS representatives also seized the opportunity to introduce Fo Guang Shan Temple South Island and Buddha’s Light international Association South Island to the participants of the meeting, and actively invited the politicians to participate in the 2022 Buddha’s Birthday Festival at the Temple to pray for World Peace. Many of the politicians are friends of FGS and have established good relationships with the Temple for many years. They promised to attend the 2022 Buddha’s Birthday Festival.