Diversity celebrated at cookbook launch
Volunteer contributors came together at Ōtāhuhu Library on Race Relations Day to launch ‘Tastes of Home’, a cookbook featuring family recipes and stories of AUT staff and students from migrant and refugee backgrounds.
Sales will be used to create a new scholarship fund exclusively for AUT students from a refugee background.
The team also launched the cookbook as an app, available on Google Play and the App Store.
At the event, Diversity Manager Lian-Hong Brebner spoke about the Christchurch tragedy, honouring the victims and their families, many of whom are former refugees and migrants who chose to make Christchurch their home. The programme included a minute of silence and guests were invited to write their messages of condolence, support and love for those affected.
Guest speaker, diversity and inclusion specialist, Fia Collins, gave a talanoa titled ‘courageous conversations about race’.
Fia encouraged audience members to get to know one another by spending meaningful time with other cultures, to break the racial stereotypes. “Being culturally intelligent is a commitment to lifelong learning,” she said.
Lian-Hong asked the panel made up of AUT alumni Bridie Chetwin-Kelly, Melissa Koh, Sophia Spivak and Sakina Ewazi about their experiences of contributing to the book, and what it meant to them.
AUT alumna and Graphic Designer/Photographer for Student Services Sakina Ewazi said: “It was such a pleasure to have people come over to our house. In Afghani culture, when you come through the door you have to sit down and have a meal or something to drink,” she said.
All recipe books are now sold out
If you want to know more about the fund or how you can contribute, please contact us at foundation@aut.ac.nz.