Phnom Penh Dialogue 2008 on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace and Harmony, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 3-6 April 2008
Country Report: New Zealand
1. Demographics
New Zealand has a population of approximately 4 million people, comprising over 2.6 million who identify as European, 565,000 as Maori, 354,000 as Asian, and 265,000 as Pacific Island. New Zealanders identified their religion in the 2006 census as follows:
|
Religion |
Population |
Percentage of population |
|
Christian |
2.1 million |
50.7% |
|
No religion |
1.29 million |
31.1% |
|
Hindu |
64,567 |
1.5% |
|
Buddhist |
52,392 |
1.3% |
|
Muslim |
36,150 |
0.9% |
|
Other / Not Stated |
600,169 |
14.9% |
There is no official state religion. The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act affirms the freedom of religion, and the New Zealand Human Rights Act makes it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of religion.
2. Existing interfaith activities
There is an active interfaith movement in New Zealand. The Human Rights Commission facilitates a national interfaith network, with a monthly electronic newsletter, Te Korowai Whakapono, an annual interfaith policy forum as part of the New Zealand Diversity Forum (the focus of the August 2007 forum, for example, was religion in schools), and encouragement of participating organisations to undertake interfaith projects.
There are interfaith councils in many centres, which undertake a range of interfaith activities at the local community level. They meet together annually in February or March at the National Interfaith Forum. The 2008 National Interfaith Forum was held in March and focussed on the theme “Beyond Tolerance – Towards Understanding and Respect: Challenges and Opportunities”. A National Women’s Interfaith Forum and the first National Youth Interfaith Forum were held alongside this meeting, giving substance to the Waitangi Action Plan’s call for increased focus on women and youth in interfaith activities. The outcomes from these meetings, including a keynote address from the Governor General, Hon Anand Satyanand, are available on the Interfaith website www.interfaith.org.nz.
A key project for the New Zealand interfaith network in 2007 was the completion of a Statement on Religious Diversity (a copy of which was circulated at the Waitangi Interfaith Dialogue) which provides a framework for the discussion of religious issues by faith communities and the wider public. Following extensive consultation and public debate the Statement was published in May 2007. Faith communities and interfaith groups have since been invited to endorse the statement, and those who have done so include major Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Baha’i and other groups. The Statement continues to receive endorsements from community and faith groups and other stakeholders. The Statement is due to be reviewed in time for the 2009 National Diversity Forum.
Other key milestones in interfaith activity in 2007 included New Zealand’s hosting of the regional Alliance of Civilisations Symposium in Auckland and the Asia-Pacific Regional Interfaith Dialogue in Waitangi, both in May. New Zealand also co-hosted, with Australia, the International Conference of the Council of Christians and Jews in Sydney, which included a Jewish/Christian/Muslim youth dialogue.
New Zealand sponsored a visit to New Zealand early this year by Professor Tariq Ramadan, a widely published theologian and Islamic reformer currently based at St Antony's College, Oxford. The visit provided a valuable opportunity to engage with a leading voice in the debate over interaction between, particularly Muslim and Western, societies.
Religious diversity projects that have taken place since the Waitangi meeting have included:
- the first New Zealand national Hindu conference
- the opening of two major Buddhist temples
- the Building Bridges Programme undertaken by the Office of Ethnic Affairs and the Federation of Islamic Associations
- the first national conference of Imams
- Islam Awareness Week
- a second series of television programmes on well known New Zealanders of different faiths
- the formation of the New Zealand Buddhist Council
- a range of local activities, including exhibitions and series of seminars organised by regional Interfaith Councils
- a major exhibition and education programme on diverse faith communities at Waikato Museum in Hamilton
- participation in the week of Prayer for World Peace
- a three day inter-faith pilgrimage trail in March taking in various faith centres throughout the north of New Zealand
Forthcoming projects in 2008 include:
- a multi-faith conference at Auckland University, Uni-Diversity, looking at Diversity and the Challenge of Change (September)
- progress towards the establishment of a Centre for Interfaith Dialogue and Education (CIDE) at Auckland’s UNITEC polytechnic promoting interfaith engagement including education and dialogue
- a second national conference of Imams
- Islam Awareness Week
- the week of Prayer for World Peace
- the second national Hindu conference
- a national Convention for New Zealand Muslims
- the sixth Global Buddhist Conference in Auckland in December
- the Connecting Diverse Communities Programme led by the Ministry of Social Development and the Office of Ethnic Affairs
- a third series of television programmes on well known New Zealanders of different faiths
3. New projects/initiatives
New Schools Curriculum and Religion in Schools
A new national education curriculum was released in November, and one of its key underpinning principles is cultural diversity: All teaching is required to “reflect New Zealand’s cultural diversity and value the histories and traditions of all its people.” The curriculum also sets out values that are to be fostered throughout the curriculum and in the school community. These include diversity, as found in our different cultures, languages, and heritages, equity, through fairness and social justice, community and participation for the common good, and respect for themselves, others, and human rights. The new curriculum is to be fully implemented by 2010, and resources to support it will be developed over the next two years. Included in these will be resources to teach an understanding of different religions. At the same time, the Ministry of Education is working with faith communities to establish quality standards for religious studies in schools. Guidelines on religion and schools are also in preparation as a project of the New Zealand Diversity Action Programme, arising out of the discussions at last year’s Diversity Forum.
Alliance of Civilisations: National Implementation Plan
The Government published a report in November on the Asia-Pacific regional symposium on the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations initiative. As a further follow-up to the symposium, the Government has developed a national plan detailing how New Zealand will implement the Alliance initiative and promote inter-cultural dialogue nationally, regionally and globally. The National Implementation Plan takes forward the four focus areas of the UN report, namely education, youth, media and migration, which were also addressed in the Waitangi Declaration and Programme of Action.
The implementation plan will support existing and new initiatives that:
a promote trust and understanding between diverse communities by connecting people and organisations;
b reduce polarisation between societies through joint pursuits and partnerships (including between Government and civil society) that help give impetus to innovative projects;
c build respect and understanding among cultures and empower voices of moderation and reconciliation which can help calm cultural and religious tensions between nations and peoples;
d provide access to information and resource materials drawn from successful co-operative initiatives which could in turn be used by other institutions, organisations and individuals.
Existing initiatives that contribute to the plan are the Government’s Connecting Diverse Communities programme, Building Bridges Programme, the New Zealand Settlement Strategy and Action Plan, the Youth Exchanges Programme, the Intercultural Awareness and Communication Programme, and the Human Rights Commission’s Diversity Action Programme. In March the Tertiary Education Commission announced it would provide funding for the establishment of a joint New Zealand Centre for the study of Islam and Muslim cultures. New initiatives foreshadowed are a media literacy and standards programme, strengthening the focus on religions and cultures in the curriculum, and scholarships to promote religious understanding in the Asia-Pacific region. Contribution to a number of Asia-Pacific regional initiatives is also envisaged.
The following websites provide further information about these programmes and initiatives:
www.msd.govt.nz
www.hrc.co.nz/diversity
www.ethnicaffairs.govt.nzwww.immigration.govt.nz/settlement
www.mfat.govt.nz
www.myd.govt.nz
4. Follow-Up on the Waitangi Declaration and Plan of Action
The New Zealand delegation identified six areas within the Waitangi Declaration and Action Plan of particular relevance to New Zealand. These are listed below, together with follow-up action taken:
At the national level
· Identifying clear points of contact within government for relations with faith communities and interfaith cooperation, including the interfaith network facilitated by the Human Rights Commission. The Government has identified the Ministry of Social Development as the main contact point, in close cooperation with the Office of Ethnic Affairs. The Human Rights Commission continues to facilitate a national interfaith network.
· Strengthening interfaith dialogue and addressing concerns within religious communities, making use of the Statement on Religious Diversity. The Statement on Religious Diversity continues to provide a basis and focal point for promoting interfaith understanding.
· Establishing an Asia Pacific regional interfaith network and database. New Zealand was supportive of Australia’s offer, following the Waitangi Dialogue, to develop and implement this initiative.
· Providing education about religions, with a focus on developing resources for the new school curriculum which has a high-level focus on diversity. Discussions are underway with the Ministry of Education as to how this can best be done.
· Strengthening tertiary education institutions and religious diversity, including though student exchanges, research and establishing an Islamic Studies Centre. The Tertiary Education Commission has recently announced funding for the establishment of a joint New Zealand Centre for the study of Islam and Muslim cultures. Other issues are being addressed through the Alliance of Civilisations Implementation Plan.
· Promoting media awareness of issues around reporting related to religious diversity. The New Zealand Journalism Training Organisation has done useful work in this area and an independent review of the Press Council has recommended a role for the Council in advocating for journalism standards as well as receiving complaints. Other initiatives are under consideration.
At the regional level
· Facilitate journalist exchange programmes around the region. New Zealand has established an annual regional media scholarship. This initiative, launching this year, will place 2 recent New Zealand journalism graduates on an internship/study programme in South East Asia, to broaden their understanding of regional issues and inter-religious and inter-cultural relations. We also welcome various journalists from across Asia to New Zealand under our Seriously Asia journalist exchange programme. New Zealand is also investigating, with partners, the scope for a regional journalist programme focused on widening understanding of critical international issues - particularly in those fields where politics and religion intersect.
· Facilitate further exchanges between people (e.g. youth, students, teachers, religious leaders, academics) of different faiths, within and between countries, and at the grassroots communal levels. New Zealand facilitates a number of different exchanges around the region, including for youth, students, academics and religious leaders. A recent addition to exchange programmes is the ‘Muslim Youth Leaders Exchange Programme’ which piloted in 2007 with two Indonesian Muslim youth leaders travelling to New Zealand, interacting with our own Muslim communities, academics, interfaith team, officials and community leaders.
· Support research projects exploring any nexus between religion and conflict; perceptions of security among different faith groups; and religious education in the region. New Zealand has provided support to a South East Asian regional University Centre of Excellence for research on inter-religious dialogue and for further development of its own syllabus for inter-religious studies at the tertiary level. A New Zealand theology lecturer has also been seconded to the centre for 6 months to teach and provide assistance on curriculum development, and a lecturer from an Islamic university in Indonesia will undertake a 3-month fellowship at a New Zealand university this year. We have also provided support to a local Indonesian NGO for its research, capacity strengthening, monitoring and advocacy work to help achieve enhanced inter-religious understanding and gender sensitive policies in Gorontalo, Bali and Central Kalimantan.
· Develop partnerships between faith groups, civil society and governments to work for social and economic justice, minority empowerment and reconciliation among conflicting groups within society. New Zealand has provided support for a programme in Indonesia (involving several NGO partners including Islamic and Christian) to develop an effective advocacy and monitoring system to support the fulfilment, at a local level, of freedom of religion and belief.
New Zealand delegation
April 2008