Announcing our 2020 Major Fund Recipients
The National Commission for UNESCO is delighted to announce its 2020 major funding recipients.
In 2020 the National Commission supported five projects through major grants.
The National Commission provided a grant to the Polynesian Panther Party (PPP) 50th Anniversary Committee. The PPP was founded in 1971 to advocate for Pacific people’s rights in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is credited as a forerunner to modern-day community activism. The grant supports the Educate to Liberate project which celebrates and documents PPP history and whakapapa from the communities it has worked with. PPP members will present throughout New Zealand, sharing their knowledge and contribution to social justice and the fight against racism in Aotearoa New Zealand.
A grant provided to the Auckland Festival Trust enabled three events to take place in 2021 that recognise the importance of the PPP in Aotearoa New Zealand. The events are made up of the Dawn Raids exhibition, a symposium and a street festival in Ponsonby. All three events celebrate the positive work undertaken by the PPP over the past 50 years.
A further grant enabled the Whenua Ūkaipō-Connectedness exhibition to take place in Wellington in November 2020. The exhibition is made up of 17 newly commissioned visual artworks accompanied by a public programme exploring a multi-cultural and Te Ao Māori world view of Te Taiao (the natural environment). The exhibitions celebrates of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. Each artwork reflects one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The exhibition can now be viewed online at whenuaukaipo.nz/exhibition.
The Manukau Football Club received a grant for their project promoting self-determination and equity through sport. The project includes the development of resources that tackle racism in sport, in particular football. The resources are being developed through interviews with Manukau youth to gather insights based on their experiences of racism and discrimination. The resources will be available on-line and shared across sporting codes and in the South Auckland area.
The final 2020 major grant recipient is Unitec’s Takiwā project which will assess the regenerative land use and education needs of the Mangakahia region.
