Tauranga to host interfaith workshops

This year workshops will be held at Waikato University's Durham St campus. Supplied photo.

A series of workshops aimed at building cultural awareness and overcoming bias are set to return to Tauranga Moana.

The Tauranga Moana Interfaith Council, supported by the University of Waikato and the Welcoming Communities programme, have run religious diversity workshops for the past two years.

The workshops cover topics such as cultural awareness, examining issues, and overcoming bias.

Last year these workshops were offered to people from a wide variety of work situations, faith traditions (and several no faith tradition), and cultures to help us celebrate their differences and explore how to welcome the growing religious diversity in New Zealand today.

In Tauranga, about one in five people are born overseas, and as the region grows so does its increasingly diverse population.

Tauranga Moana Interfaith Council chair John Hebenton says religious diversity is growing in New Zealand, and finding ways to embrace cultural diversity is vital.

'Cities like Tauranga have become multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-faith communities,” says John.

'It takes time and effort to overcome our lack of knowledge about those different from us.”

'We hope this course will help us all look at what we assume is normal and learn about the many diverse groups that make up our city, so that we can create welcoming communities in which all can thrive,” says John.

This year workshops will be held at Waikato University's Durham St campus on Friday, July 1, and Saturday, July 2.

Further details are available here.

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