Sir Anand Satyanand appointed patron of Superdiversity council

Former New Zealand Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand. Photo / Getty

Former Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand has been appointed patron of a new Superdiversity leadership council following the launch of a stocktake on the issue this month.

Since the launch, by the Superdiversity Centre for Law, Policy and Business, the report has been downloaded 44,691 times.

The stocktake was written by lawyer Mai Chen, who will chair the leadership council.
The Council is comprised of top ethnic leaders who are committed to the success of New Zealand with established and well-recognised market credentials.

The members comprise senior Maori, Pasifika and Asian leaders Sir Tipene O'Regan, Mike Pero, Naomi Ballantyne, Mark Tume, Adrian Orr, Graeme Wong, Lisa Li, Tarun Kanji, Parekawhia McLean, Mitchell Pham, Mavis Mullins and Caren Rangi.

Ms Chen said: "These 12 leaders were appointed because they embody the future face of business leadership in ethnically superdiverse New Zealand. Each member is recognised in their field and has established credentials of success.

"They lead by example, and show the contribution that ethnically diverse New Zealanders make to this country every day at the coalface of business and their communities. They show what leadership with cultural intelligence looks like and the Superdiversity Centre will benefit from their experience and wisdom.

"The Council will provide guidance to the work of the Superdiversity Centre, and serve as a forum through which Council members can provide leadership on ethnic superdiversity issues," said Ms Chen.

At the last census, nearly one in four people in Auckland identified with an Asian ethnicity and people of more than 200 ethnicities now call New Zealand home.

NZME, publishers of the Herald, has gone into partnership with Chen Palmer to provide a service to help organisations better communicate with New Zealand's "superdiverse" population.

The partnership, Cultural Bridge, is a service to help Government departments and local council organisations communicate with ethnically diverse New Zealanders.

Superdiversity is a social science term said to be coined by sociologist Steve Vertovec in 2007. It refers to current levels of population diversity that are significantly higher than before. It not only relates to increased diversity between immigrant and ethnic groups, but also within them.