Whanganui International Jazz Day
International Jazz Day, celebrated on April 30th, is an International Day declared by UNESCO in 2011 "to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe."
Whanganui Celebrates
Aotearoa New Zealand is the first place in the world to celebrate International Jazz Day.
Since 2018 Whanganui has celebrated International Jazz Day with a special event that brings together the local community to enjoy and celebrate Jazz.
From 2018 to 2024 under the musical direction of the late Dr Rodger Fox, the country’s most celebrated exponent of the idiom, music students from Whanganui and Manawatū have gathered for a workshop where they are tutored in the art of improvisation. This has been followed by an evening performance that includes both student and professional musicians.
The National Commission has supported Whanganui for a number of years in this celebration.
In 2023 we held a special panel event on the day focused on the role of creativity in creating better cities. The event explored how cultural policies and projects can implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
It featured a range of local and national speakers including a music therapist, a jazz historian, young musicians and the directors of the UNESCO Creative Cities network, who shared their experience of using creativity to support diversity and inclusion.
