Educating for Asia Dinner

I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand, in English, Māori, Cook Island Māori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.  Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the evening (Sign)

I then specifically greet you: Hon Philip Burdon and Dr Richard Grant, Chairman and Executive Director respectively of the Asia New Zealand Foundation and fellow board members Ken Douglas and Peter Chin, Melissa Lee and Raymond Huo, Members of Parliament; Principals of Schools from many parts of New Zealand; Distinguished Guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen. 

Thank you for inviting my wife Susan and I to this dinner here at the Wellington Club to mark the Educating for Asia summit.

As Patron of the Asia New Zealand Foundation, I would like to an opportunity to speak of the importance of New Zealanders enhancing their understanding of Asia.

As a concept, “Asia” is what can be called a construct, which describes that part of the Eurasian landmass beyond the Ural and Caucasus mountains and the Sea of Marmara that divides Turkey.  The people of ancient Asia, however, did not conceive of the continent in any such collective sense because they saw their civilisations as being different and distinct.

Even as a geographic term “Asia” covers a diverse range of landscapes.  From the Mongolian steppes and deserts of western China to the towering mountain ranges of Pakistan, India and Nepal to the dense jungles of southeast Asia, the continent’s varied environment and ecology defies any simple description.

“Asia” is not therefore one country, nor is it one people.  Rather, it is a diverse group of nations, regions, localities, economies and cultures, each with its own deep and complex history and achievements.  “Asia” is four billion individuals—about 60 percent of the world’s population—comprising hundreds of ethnic and cultural groups and many different languages and dialects and many different religions and belief systems.

For the last 17 years, the Asia New Zealand Foundation, of which I was for some time its Deputy Chairman, has been successful in raising the profile of Asia in the minds of New Zealanders.  It has done this through research, through briefings for politicians, journalists and other opinion makers, through educational, scholarship and cultural exchange programmes as well as through promoting festivals such as Diwali and the Chinese New Year.

Despite successes in many of these endeavours, there is a need to enhance that understanding further.  The reasons in favour of this are many and varied.

The first is aptly summarised by the word “diversity” and the Māori proverb, "Ko tō ao, ko tōku ao" which can be translated as saying "Your world is my world."  Compared with much of its history which envisaged Maori and Pakeha, New Zealand is now a highly diverse multicultural country.  People of Chinese, Indian, Sir Lankan, Filipino, Cambodian, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese descent are just some of the more than 30 Asian communities that now call New Zealand home.  There are also significant communities here with us from Africa, Europe and the Americas as well.

Some of those Asian people are recent migrants while others are descendents of people who have lived here for some generations, some stretching back to the time of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.  People of Asian descent now account for nine percent of New Zealand’s population and by 2026, Statistics New Zealand estimates that figure will have grown to 16 percent.

When I was growing up in Auckland in the 1950s, Asian faces like mine were not a hugely common sight in New Zealand’s schools.  Children growing up today, and particularly those living in Auckland, are more likely to study, live and work alongside people of Asian ethnicity and to call them their work mates, friends and neighbours.  Indeed, Asian cultures have become a part of everyday New Zealand life, as can be seen by the food we eat and the festivals in which we celebrate.

The second reason relates to “economy” in that New Zealand’s economy is deeply intertwined with those Asia.  We buy more and more products and services from the nations of Asia than ever before, and they are becoming an ever growing market for our agricultural and manufactured products.

Likewise, enterprises from Asia have invested in New Zealand and people from the nations of the region are increasingly travelling to New Zealand for holiday, business and educational purposes.  Likewise, New Zealanders are increasingly travelling to Asia and making investments in the region. 

This two-way trade in services and goods is vital for increasing incomes, creating jobs and raising all New Zealanders’ standard of living.  Indeed, while many nations, New Zealand included, have been affected by the global financial crisis that began in 2008, New Zealand’s exports to Asia, and particularly to China since the signing of the Free Trade Agreement in the same year, have helped to blunt the impact of the recession, significant as it has been.

This in turn leads to the third reason – “security and stability”.  As a nation whose prosperity is dependent on trade, the stability and security of the Asia-Pacific region is of strategic importance to New Zealand.  Multilateral engagement with the nations of Asia will be vital for addressing issues such as human rights and socio-political unrest, energy, food and water scarcity, climate change and environmental degradation.  New Zealand will need people with skills in cross-cultural communication and an understanding of these issues in an Asia-Pacific context if it is to fully engage with the region’s nations and peoples.

The world is changing and Asia, which was once the centre of world affairs until the rise of the western powers in the 19th Century, is re-emerging as a powerhouse of global economic growth.

Commenting on the influence of the so-called “BRIC nations”, the quartet of Brazil, Russia, India and China, Terence O’Brien, a former New Zealand Ambassador to the United Nations who is now a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies at the Victoria University of Wellington, made an observation that covers this point well.  He said:

“The pendulum of international affairs is swinging.  One essential conclusion can be drawn from the dual spectacle of BRIC emergence as a global influence, and of East Asia’s advance as a regional, and global force: To be modern and successful in the 21st Century will no longer necessarily equate with being ‘Western’”.

If the 19th and 20th centuries, could be described as the “Western centuries,” it seems almost certain that the 21st Century will be dubbed the “Asian century. 

In understanding the full ramifications of in change world affairs, New Zealand’s schools play a pivotal role. The need for prepare students for such a different world is emphasised in the New Zealand curriculum.  The point is well made by the Ministry of Education in its Asia Aware resources developed in association with the Foundation.  That document states:

“The moral imperative of any school’s curriculum is to prepare learners for successful 21st century living. Given New Zealand’s key role in the Asia–Pacific region, the increasing diversity of New Zealand’s population, and the continued economic growth of Asia, schools need to include some Asian contexts within teaching and learning programmes to meet this imperative.”

The key word is “imperative” and the urgency it implies.  Incorporating Asian studies, culture and language is no longer a question of “if” or “when” but of “how”.  As one who has had a lot of connections with schools in the last four and a half years and as one whose daughter is a senior secondary school teacher, I am conscious of the various demands being regularly made on our education system. 

That is why gatherings such as this are an important part of underscoring the importance of Asian studies in the school curriculum.  They are an opportunity to share knowledge and experience of what works.  They are also an opportunity to celebrate success stories.  I therefore congratulate the Asia New Zealand Foundation for taking the initiatives in this area which it has, so well.

In conclusion, preparing for a future with Asia is an imperative for us all.  But it is one in which schools, and particularly the school leaders here today, have an important role.  Your leadership and example, ladies and gentlemen, will be essential in meeting the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

And on that note I will close in New Zealand’s first language Māori, by offering everyone greetings and wishing you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours. 

No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.