Event celebrates Race Unity Speech Awards milestone
A full description of the awards and their history is published in the RUSA 21st Anniversary publication, which the friends are encouraged to read and share with others.
Protagonists and supporters of the Race Unity Speech Awards (RUSA) celebrated more than two decades of this endeavour in a special event at Parliament recently. The awards are spearheaded by the Bahá’í Office of Public Affairs and the New Zealand Police.
The event at Parliament was co-hosted by the Minister of Police, the Honourable Ginny Andersen, and Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities, the Honourable Priyanca Radhakrishnan. Over 250 guests filled the Banquet Hall of the Beehive for the occasion.
The National Spiritual Assembly was represented by its Secretary, Mrs Suzanne Mahon, who said that the kaupapa is one of the Bahá’í community’s contributions towards eliminating prejudice and fostering unity in Aotearoa.
Although the awards are now in their 23rd year, the event officially marked their 21st anniversary, it having taken a couple of years and four attempts to hold this celebration due to the effects of the pandemic. The event was held on 4 April.
Youth were prominent at the evening as it was essentially their celebration - a celebration of 21 years of elevating their voices, and of their thoughts and ideas permeating our communities and reaching people of influence in Aotearoa. Guests also included senior government officials, chief executives of many agencies, community representatives, civil society organisations, members of Parliament, previous national champions and regional representatives of the Race Unity Speech Awards.
The evening included a panel discussion led by The Honourable Priyanca Radhakrishnan, with panelists, Te Ariki Te Puni, Mira Karunanidhi, and Nora Quigley, addresses from the hosting Ministers, Commissioner of Police Andrew Coster, Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon, and Deputy Commissioner of Police Wallace Haumaha. To mark this special occasion a publication was launched, “Speaking for Unity, Reflecting on 21 years of the Race Unity Speech Awards 2001-2021”. This publication brings together the history of the awards, their purpose, and the voices of 19 of the 21 National Champions.
The first Speech Awards were held for the greater Auckland area in 2001. At that stage they were called the Hedi Moani Memorial Speech Awards. The following year they were also held in North Canterbury, before rapidly becoming almost nationwide.
An article about the occasion — “Sound of Voices, Not of Silence” — has been published by the Police in the “Ten One” magazine.
A media release is attached, providing further information about the occasion.
