Responding to Superdiversity: A Research Agenda

Paul Spoonley

Massey University

Chinese TodayRising Dragons, Soaring Bananas

17-19 July 2009Auckland

INTEGRATIONOF IMMIGRANTSPROGRAMME

2007 – 2012

How have the core institutions in New Zealand and the people who run them,

responded to diversity in general and the presence of Chinese in particular?

The Superdiversity of Auckland

Overseas Born

Ethnicity

Maori PP Asian

North Shore 40 6 3 19

Waitakere 32 13 15 16

Auckland 38 8 13 24

Manukau 38 15 28 21

Overseas Born and Ethnic Composition, 2006

Employment

• Attitudes of employers towards Chinese • Experiences of Chinese business owners

and job-seekers

Public Attitudes

Agreement

2003 2006

Positive: Make NZers more open to new ideas and cultures

60 71

Improve standard of food and cuisine 73 75

Concerns:Immigrants stick to their own and do not mix

77 75

Racist comment 41 46

Attitude Surveys, 2003-2006

Media

• Media racism

• New technologies, new media

A Future Agenda: Research Capability

• A tipping point: NZ-born Chinese

• New identities and experiences

• New ways of doing research

A Future Agenda: New Technologies

Cyber Ethnicity• Do online technologies significantly alter the

nature and articulations of ethnicity?• Enhance community networks/solidarity or

destroy them?

Online connections – corrode or preserve culture?

(Howard)

A Future Agenda: Chinese Invisibility

• Royal Commission on Auckland Governance

• Making Auckland GreaterGreater communities, greater connections, greater value?

Who is a New Zealander?

• What it means to be a New Zealander?

• What it means to be a New Zealander in a culturally diverse society?

http://integrationofimmigrants.massey.ac.nz

INTEGRATIONOF IMMIGRANTSPROGRAMME

2007 – 2012