Our functions
This year, we have continued our work raising the visibility of issues that impact Ethnic Communities. We have used our convening power to bring communities together to discuss complex and sensitive issues. We have also supported communities with funding via the Ethnic Communities Development Fund (ECDF).
We have provided advice to support the Minister for Ethnic Communities and the wider public sector. We have continued developing foundational tools and resources to help employers improve organisational intercultural capability, with an initial focus on public service.
We have further developed our data and analytics capabilities to provide insights into the needs of Ethnic Communities and visibility about diverse communities’ contributions.
This year, we fully assumed the administration of the ECDF from the Department of Internal Affairs. The ECDF has $4.2 million a year available to support Ethnic Communities in growing their skills, celebrating their culture and participating in society.
We have also established a Security and Resilience team. This team will engage with Ethnic Communities to confidentially learn about their experiences of foreign interference, how it impacts them, and what support they may need. By understanding their experiences, agencies will also be better placed to support those affected, and to build resilience to foreign interference and its impact together.
The communities we serve
Ethnic Communities in New Zealand are the fastest-growing populations and are becoming more diverse, tripling in size since 1996.
Within the next decade, Ethnic Communities will make up more than 25 percent of the population, as New Zealand’s Asian population reaches one million people.
Our remit includes people who identify as African, Asian, Continental European, Latin American or Middle Eastern. They include former refugees, asylum seekers, new and temporary migrants, long-term settlers and multi-generational New Zealanders.
The workforce of the Ethnic Communities is highly skilled and has a high labour market participation rate. However, they face lower income levels despite their qualifications. Ethnic Communities also contribute to New Zealand’s economy by increasing business ownership. Ethnic businesses are uniquely placed to positively contribute to international trade by
fostering relationships and opportunities between New Zealand and the countries they have migrated from.
Our Ethnic Communities are incredibly diverse, and based on the 2018 Census they speak more than 160 languages. The most spoken languages among these communities are English, Northern Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Yue ( Cantonese), Sinitic (other Chinese dialects), Tagalog, Punjabi, Korean, Fijian Hindi and Afrikaans. We are looking forward to more updated ethnic data about our Ethnic Communities as part of the 2023 Census being released in the future.
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