Christchurch Invitation

What do we see here – those of us who arrive in New Zealand as migrants?  And what do we bring?  The Pacific is vast, but in terms of migration, South America is like a near neighbour to us. Sol Gill grew up in Bogotá, Colombia, 2,600 metres above sea level and in a country more than four times the size of NZ . That urban upbringing was enriched and deepened beyond the city, at her grandmother's f...

The Youth Parliament comes every three years. Young, politically minded individuals, nominated by, yet not representing, MPs from across the country. Each with the issues they want to speak to. In 2025, one part of Hineātea Alexander’s focus was on equity and justice.  Here, she talks of growing up around strong people; of precious time with her tāua (her grandmother) and her pāua (her grandfather...

We build our nations on memory but no country has a pain-free history. Yet what we choose to remember is wrapped in political perspectives, in questions of identity, and in ways of seeing. “Memory is politics. It’s a choice,” says Anne Talsnes.  Anne is the Senior Advisor to the 22 July Centre in Oslo, Norway – a centre established to carry forward the work of memory and learning from the 2011 ter...

The bar-tailed godwit weighs just 300grms. From New Zealand, each year, they double their weight to fly to the Yellow Sea, then to Alaska. In Spring they return – a non-stop flight of eight or nine days; 11,000 - 12,000kms!  Sometimes people can be born and grow up in a place but never feel entirely at ease there; instead, feel a belonging when they arrive somewhere else. It’s happened to me; cert...

How do we make spaces for others – not spaces with limits, but so that any disability in one dimension doesn’t limit big possibilities in another? What support and pathways can we create to unlock potential, create structure and belonging?  Back in episode 5, Jeremy Faumuinā Spoke about his work as a social worker with the New Zealand Police; with his concentration on young people who have made du...

How do you tell people’s stories so they can say “Yes, you have heard me. That is what I want to say.” This is the second of two conversations on the development of the verbatim drama, “Memorial.” A play that, in a sense, gives permission for hard, suppressed questions about Muslims as “others” to be asked. And that speaks of loss in a way that can be understood across cultures and spaces and expe...

The first of two conversations via zoom. It’s with Arianna Gayle Stucki in the USA, in discussion on how the verbatim drama "Memorial" came to be.  We've talked about how stories get told; who tells them; and how that telling may take the story away from the one it belongs to. This is different. In June 2019 Arianna came to NZ to listen to people who had suffered loss and great hurt...

Today’s episode is the last In this first series of the Christchurch Invitation. (Before a break of a couple of months) Here I’ve pulled together a few clips to give something of the flavour of these conversations: Mark Solomon and Raesha Ismail on connections; John Sellwood on stories and who owns them; John Psathas on music to give people hope; and Jeremy Faumuinā with how you carry yourself in...

Today’s episode will be the second to last In this first series of the Christchurch Invitation. (Before a break of a couple of months to reflect on what I’m trying to do, and to plan ahead!) So this will be a kind of looking back at some of the pathways we’ve wandered through; at what’s been talked about; hearing again from a few of the people we’ve met. And to try to draw a sense of some of the q...

It’s a truism that once you’ve made a journey you’re better placed to understand its demands. And hopefully pass on the learnings. Arriving in NZ, even with mastery of a range of other languages, there can still be struggles that the native English speaker may not recognise. A chronological age may prompt expectations of experience and understanding that a newcomer to a school (and even to systems...

Patrick O’Conner’s life has been with people and communities, and for the marginalised. He grew up in a Christchurch home of six children that was shaped around practical, Catholic values and with his father’s reminder that your work is to be “kind and charitable.” Involvement in 1969 with the anti-Springbok tour fed into the learning about the consequences of injustice. But, too, that there is al...

As a company name, “Untouched World” hints at something quietly distinctive: beautiful materials, restrained elegance. Along with that, a significant recognition for sustainability and high quality. A Christchurch-based company, it counts among its wearers some very recognisable public figures. I met founder and CEO, Peri Drysdale, at this year’s “Unity in Diversity” dinner – an annual event led b...

This conversation brings together three members of a student co-design team “Action the Compassion”: Eric Antony, Teresa Steiner, and Ewan Mander. The Action the Compassion student huis are something like a sibling to these Christchurch Invitation podcasts: they developed out of the same place of origin.  Their focus is on students from across Christchurch and Canterbury coming together from their...

For Tā Mark Solomon (Sir Mark Solomon) knowing who you are; knowing your family's relationships; and treating others with respect are crucial. As Kaiwhakahaere (Chairperson) of Ngā Tahu for eighteen years, there was much that he learned to listen to and watch, and many elders to learn from. He listened to the ones outside the meeting who might not speak up inside; spent time in the kitchen and...

If conflicts are a fact of life, left unmanaged, they can be costly. And not just in financial terms. Yet, “when handled constructively, conflict is a normal and useful part of life.” Today, Wayne Marriott speaks of his work in conflict resolution and management, mediation and more – in short, peace building.  That can be at the family level, in small groupings or communities and organisations, an...

Lianne Dalziel's three terms as Mayor of Christchurch included the savage experience of the 2019 mosque attacks. But as a citizen of Christchurch and, for an extended period, as a local Member of Parliament, she's also experienced earthquakes, fires, and more. That direct, lived experience, is very significant. In the process of responding to a critical event, she says, "the early dec...

Farid Ahmed’s name became very widely known when his wife, Husna, was killed in the Christchurch mosque attacks in March 2019 and he forgave the killer. In Episode 18 of these podcasts we spoke about his upbringing in Sylhet, Bangladesh; witnessing his father’s role as something akin to a village magistrate; and of what became, for Farid, a kind of practical education in disagreement, conflict, an...

Intersectionality means pulling together, working from the different strands of who we are. And for Tyla Harrison-Hunt working like this is a strength, not a burden. He offers the example of high performing teams where amazing collective leadership is a powerful element in their success. In the best collective leaderships each one knows their role and does it well. The lessons seem clear: bring in...

In the March 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack, Farid Ahmed’s wife, Husna, was killed. He and his daughter then spoke together about the path they should take. It would be one, not of anger and retribution, but of forgiveness. He said, “ I do not want to have a heart like a volcano.” That forgiveness at such a brutal, calculated act has prompted a range of responses: wide-spread respect felt glob...

When the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) were exploring how they, as the nation’s orchestra, could respond to the events of the 2019 Christchurch terror attacks and bring people together, they turned to the composer John Psathas.  In 2024 that NZSO initiative resulted in three performances of their “Beyond Words” concert. The premiere would be in the Christchurch Town Hall five years on from...

The corner dairy is a familiar part of our landscape. The lives lived inside unknown to those just passing. Raesha Ismail was nine years old when her family bought the dairy on Springs Road, Christchurch. For a child it was a space full of treats that offered a joyful time. There, her parents modelled the meaning of very hard work and responsibility that saw Raesha and two of her brothers through...

Over almost forty-five years of working in journalism – first in radio, then television – John Sellwood’s experiences taught him many lessons. From one, very early, “live cross” in Wellington the need to listen, double-check, then triple-check were all brought home to him. If things can go wrong, they will.  There is that possibility in story-telling that empathy may be a negative, almost a selfis...

To belong somewhere it seems helpful to have a kind of a map – of its people, their names, and the organisations that are prominent parts of that landscape. In Canterbury, Crusaders rugby is one such prominent name. Known for their many successes, for the coaches and the culture they’ve built, and the players who’ve come to be part of that story. Here, their CEO, Colin Mansbridge, talks about his...

Arriving in New Zealand at the age of 15 knowing virtually no English meant that Hassan Hassan could only watch soccer and not join in. When the chance came for him to play, the words from his coach to “push up on the wing” were little more than sounds. More importantly, that lack of English blocked the way to the education that hadn’t been possible in Somalia, where his family had moved and moved...

Pukehina in the Bay of Plenty is tiny. Growing up there, Maka Mohi knew where to fish and where to hunt. But the narratives he heard were that elsewhere was amazing; the Māori world wasn’t amazing. A misstep in high school meant leaving so, at 17, "thinking I was 24," he left for big city Brisbane. But big cities have temptations. The challenge: to find his way back. His father had told...