Free Public Lecture
Feeling into Refugee Resettlement in Aotearoa New Zealand
Professor Sara Kindon
Victoria University of Wellington
Friday 11 December 2020, 12.30-1.30pm
Dunningham Suite, Floor 4, Dunedin Public Library, Moray Place
Aotearoa New Zealand often receives international acclaim for its high-quality approach to refugee resettlement, despite its small quota. The country’s refugee resettlement strategy is also recognised for attending to important dimensions of life: self sufficiency, health, education, housing and political participation, and is supported by cross-sectoral work between government and non-government actors. Despite these efforts, however, and the formidable resilience and strengths of many former refugees, many ‘new Kiwis’ report challenges in adjusting to life in this country. They lack important social capital, suffer racial or religious discrimination, and find it hard to access and learn about Te Ao Māori.
This public lecture from Professor Sara Kindon, the Centre for Global Migrations’ 2020 Visiting Scholar, questions what might be missing from the NZ Refugee Resettlement Strategy as it is currently conceived. Drawing on research as well as anecdotal reflections by resettlement support workers, the talk queries how reframing New Zealand’s strategy may better honour people’s lived realities, foster more belonging in place, and help them to feel more ‘at home’.
