Origins of the Race Unity Speech Award
During 1997, there was a series of racially motivated incidents in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Hedi Moani, a Bahá’í living in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, was deeply concerned about these incidents. An Iranian by birth, Hedi had lived in Aotearoa New Zealand for some 16 years, having lived in various parts of the world, including the United States, SE Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. From early on, Hedi developed a great love for the indigenous peoples in his newly adopted countries and established a great affinity and deep affection for them and their well-being and culture. In Aotearoa, Hedi became involved with the Māori community and fostered a special relationship with the people of Ratana Pā near Whanganui.
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Race Unity Day 1997.
In response to the racially motivated incidents, Hedi, together with other Bahá’ís, and the New Zealand Race Relations Office organised the first “Unity in Diversity” rally in Tāmaki Makarau. The inaugural rally took place on 10 December 1997 - Human Rights Day. There was a festive atmosphere with multicultural entertainment and speakers, including Hedi and the Race Relations Commissioner. The rally was featured on television news that night.
The success of the rally resulted in Hedi and others having further discussions with the Race Relations Office about the possibility of establishing a “Race Unity Day” in Aotearoa. After months of discussions, the idea became a reality, with the first New Zealand “Race Unity Day” being held in 1999. The date chosen was 21 March — the United Nations “International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination”.
Race Relations Day
The annual event which was later re-named “Race Relations Day”, receives increasing support from schools, local councils, businesses, ethnic communities, and a variety of other organisations. Hedi’s contribution is one of the main reasons we have a Race Relations Day today. However, Hedi was tragically killed in October 1998, just a few months before the inaugural event was held. After Hedi’s death, it was decided to honour his work in fostering positive race relations in Aotearoa. Various ideas were suggested, but it was eventually decided to initiate a speech award, to be held in support of the annual Race Relations Day.
Race Unity Day 1997.
RUSA
The Race Unity Speech Awards were established in 2001 in support of Race Relations Day.
Each year the Speech Awards neatly encompass three things that were dear to Hedi’s heart: fostering positive race relations, oratory, and youth.
In 2005 a Race Unity Conference was initiated to run in conjunction with the semi-finals and finals of the Speech Award.
Students from all over Aotearoa attend this event, where they participate in workshops designed to stimulate their thinking around race relations issues in Aotearoa, and are encouraged to suggest initiative and solutions that could help build a more harmonious society.
The Speech Award and Conference have been managed by the New Zealand Bahá’í Community with strong support from the Hedi Moani Charitable Trust (HMCT) and the Human Rights Commission, since its inception.
Race Relations Commissioner, Joris de Bres, has described the competition as “an excellent example” of projects aimed at promoting and fostering positive race relations in schools, and has advised that “the Commission has committed itself to supporting this initiative on an annual basis”.
Funding
In 2008, the New Zealand Police offered funding and assistance to the program and since then they have been the principal sponsors of the Speech Award at both the regional and national levels. The workshop facilitators they provide have been outstanding in their ability to engage with the youth and the funding contributed to the Speech Award each year has enabled the competition to grow and develop in ways that would not otherwise have been possible.
The Office of Ethnic Affairs also offered its support and assistance in 2009 and now contributes judges to the Speech Award and workshop facilitators to the Conference. Since then, other agencies have joined as sponsors of the Race unity Speech Awards.
“To act in the interests of a fair and just society, we cannot fail in our duty to take notice of what our young people who participate in these awards are telling us”.
— Police Superintendent, Wallace Haumaha, (MPES)
Race Unity Hui
In 2019 Race Unity started a new initiative, Race Unity Hui.
The purpose of the Race Unity Hui is to create a space where young people can advance the conversation about race relations in Aotearoa. All people aged 15-30 are welcome to deepen their understanding of race issues and share their thoughts on how we can become more just and unified as a society.
