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In this episode of Voices, Kadambari Raghukumar talks to arts practitioners about the latest New Zealand on Air music fund to support pan-Asian artists and musicians in New Zealand. A new music fund from NZ on Air will soon be open to Kiwi musicians and artists of pan-Asian descent. In this episode of Voices, Kadambari Raghukumar talks to some of the arts practitioners who helped get the New Music...

Each year, hundreds of high school students compete in New Zealand's Race Unity Speech Awards. For many past winners, the awards have been a career springboard. In this episode of Voices, three past winners talk about how the awards help young Kiwis find their voices. "There are many race-related issues New Zealand still needs to address and the Race Unity Speeches are one small part of that...

In this episode of Voices, Filmmaker Hweling Ow talks to Kadambari Raghukumar about her latest play "Not Woman Enough" directed by Sananda Chatterjee. Malaysia-born Hweiling Ow is best known for her horror films that've got millions of hits online, and last week she turned her eye to theatre with Not Woman Enough which was directed by Sananda Chatterjee and presented by Proudly Asian Theatre...

Nowroz Ali first spoke to Voices from Kabul in 2021, while he waited for one of the evacuation flights operated by New Zealand Defence Force. In this episode Kadambari Raghukumar catches up with him, a year and a half after he arrived in NZ. Nowroz Ali Atayee was a former interpreter for NZDF and when the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, along with hundreds of others, Nowroz was waiti...

The forgotten community of Banaba who were displaced from their homes to the Pacific island of Rabi in 1945, are seeking justice and restoration of their island. Banaba was all but destroyed by over 80 years of phosphate mining by British Phosphate Company (BPC) of which New Zealand was part of. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar. In this episode of Voices, we meet with a delegation of Banaban peopl...

In this Voices episode, we're talking to volunteers coming together to help the Hawkes Bay's community back on its feet again after Cyclone Gabrielle. A month on from Cyclone Gabrielle ripping through the north Island, volunteers in Hawkes Bay are busy doing whatever they can to chip in and help the community there back on its feet again. In this episode of Voices, Kadambari Raghukumar talks to so...

Professor Bruce Glavovic talks to Kadambari Raghukumar in this episode about natural disasters and why not just a scientific, but a social science perspective is crucial if we are going to adapt and be prepared for more turbulent climate in the years to come. In the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle and the flooding in February, we talk to policy adviser and professor Bruce Glavovic about his global...

In this episode, we hear about how a Massey University electronics engineer took his love for robotics to school students in Rotorua. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar. Kartikay Lal came to New Zealand as a 15-year-old with a pre-existing obsession for all things mechanical - picking them apart, fixing them and learning how things work really. That became a love for robotics when he discovered elec...

How do te reo Maori words find their way in to children's speech in New Zealand and what context do they signify? In a With a new Marsden research grant, two linguists plan to investigate this. Dr Andreea Calude of Waikato University was born in Romania, is a polyglot and a linguist. She has long been fascinated with te reo Maori and in her latest research, along with Dr Hemi Whaanga of Massey Uni...

Gaia Dell'Arriccia left the south of France to research seabirds on Auckland's coastal islands. When Kadambari Raghukumar visits, it's peak breeding season and the Italy-born scientist is busy gathering data about the birds' lives. In this episode of Voices, Gaia tells how life a long way from the Med has been going. Gaia Dell'Arriccia left the south of France to research seabirds on Auckland...

In part 2 of 2 episodes on design and decolonization, we speak to Kerry Ann Lee. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar. How do you create culturally respective design practices? How do you get past that 'imposter syndrome' when you feel the need to represent your cultural background through your aesthetic as a designer? These are questions that are constants when you come from other cultures...

In Part 1 of 2 episodes on design, decoloniality and culturally safe practices, Kadambari Raghukumar speaks to Dr Diana Albarran Gonzalez on Mexican design and textiles that became trendy in recent years, thanks to Fridamania. The hyper-commercialization of Frida Kahlo's image has seen it being indiscriminately deployed in the form of those very controversial Barbies a few years ago, to socks...

This International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women, Latin American feminists in Auckland spoke to Kadambari Raghukumar about the issues the community faces when it comes to violence against women, in the context of the violent killing of Juliana Bonilla Herrera in Christchurch earlier this year. In February this year, 37-year old Colombian, Juliana Bonilla Herrera was violently murde...

Witnessing a powhiri for some of the Bay of Plenty's newest residents is a pretty special occasion. Justine Murray was part of it all, in this weeks Voices episode. A marae is a place that embodies Māori culture and for new migrants in Tauranga a special pōwhiri hosted just for them was a chance to experience just that. For the second year local iwi authority Te Rūnanga o Ngai Te Rangi and its lea...

Exactly 20 years ago this month, Vivio Ramos decided to make a life in New Zealand bringing with him his infectious love for Cuban dance. He speaks to Kadambari Raghukumar in this episode on growing up in Cuba, studying dance, and making a life in New Zealand. https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6315930632112 Exactly 20 years ago this month, Vivio decide...

In this episode, UC Research Medal awardee Misko Cubrinovski talks to Kadambari Raghukumar about all things seismic, and a journey of studying quakes that began in former Yugoslavia. Growing up in Skopje, Misko Cubrinovski witnessed not just the immediate impact a quake had on his city but how the incident shaped the place even years on from the incident. In this Voices episode he talks to Kadamba...

Almost 40 percent of New Zealand households experience food insecurity, while 19 percent of children live in households that experience food insecurity. in this episode, Kadambari visits EKTA in Wellington, a non-profit distributing food every Saturday morning, rain or shine. Almost 40 percent of New Zealand households experience food insecurity, while 19 percent of children live in households tha...

What are Pacific values and how can they be incorporated into the classroom to help Pacific students thrive? iIn this Voices episide, Kadambari Raghukumar talks to the co-authors of a book that examines this. What are Pacific values and how can they be incorporated into the classroom to help Pacific students thrive? Three Victoria University academics explore this question in their book Pacific ed...

Caribbean-Kiwi playwright Estelle Chout's confronting and comedic new play Po' Boys and Oysters wrapped on a high last week. Kadambari Raghukumar speaks to the cast about what it means to be black creatives in Aotearoa New Zealand. Caribbean-Kiwi playwright Estelle Chout's confronting and comedic new play Po' Boys and Oysters wrapped on a high last week. Kadambari Raghukumar speaks to th...

The WOW Awards are back this year in Wellington - so what's it been like for the host of international designers who finally got to attend and show their designs after a two-year wait in limbo? The World of Wearable Art Awards is back this year in Wellington. What's it been like for the host of international designers who finally got to attend and show their designs after a two-year wait in l...

In this episode of Voices, Afghan rugby players Bilal Slaimankhel and Mohammed Safi speak to Kadambari Raghukumar on what the game has come to mean to them in recent years. What's it like representing Afghanistan in rugby, from here in New Zealand? This week on Voices Kadambari Raghukumar talks to two players from the Afghan rugby team who returned home with a silver at the Asian Rugby Sevens...

In this episode of Voices, in the run up to Mental Health Awareness week we talk to South Asian mental health advocate about the gaps and challenges they see in the community. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar. As New Zealand marks Mental Health Awareness Week, we talk to South Asian health advocates about the gaps and challenges they see in the community. The stigma toward people with mental illne...

Wellington poet Ya-Wen Ho tells Voices why a collection of lead typefaces are so precious to the New Zealand Chinese community. Wellington poet Ya-Wen Ho tells Voices why a collection of lead typefaces is so precious to the New Zealand Chinese community. https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6312284680112 New Zealand's longest surviving Chinese type c...

The Pacific Food Lab is a organisation aiming to change the way we think about, create and consume food with the hopes of improving our health and the environment. Big goals. This week on Voices, we meet two of the passionate people behind this cause. Could the answer to many of the world's problems - be food? Tracy Berno, Professor of Food Studies at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) a...

International education has been forever changed by the pandemic. Now that borders have fully reopened, we hear from two students about their experiences and find out what the future looks like for the sector. International education has been forever changed by the pandemic. Now that borders have fully reopened, we hear from two students about their experiences and find out what the future looks l...