Kiwanis International New Zealand-South Pacific District Convention

E te Rangatira o tenei hui ‑ tena koe.  Ki o tatou e hui mai nei tena tatou katoa

To the Chair of this meeting‑ greetings.  To all who have gathered here, greetings.

Greetings: 

Tony Popplewell (District Governor), conference delegates from New Zealand and the South Pacific, Clinton Green (Chair, Napier Kiwanis) and all members of Napier Kiwanis, ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you for inviting me to be a part of this important occasion, the Kiwanis International New Zealand-South Pacific Region District Convention.  Greetings to all conference delegates and visitors, particularly those of you who have travelled a long way to be here.  I am sure any travel fatigue you may experience will be washed away by the wonderful atmosphere here in Hawke's Bay.  This is one of the most beautiful parts of the country and we are very proud of it.  I am also sure that by the time you leave here, you too will wish to return as often as possible.

The past year has been an important one for Kiwanis International, both globally and also here in New Zealand and in the South Pacific.  Your major fundraising drive has seen you make a contribution of more than $250,000 to the Kidzfirst hospital in Auckland.  I understand that you are in fact continuing to raise funds for this most worthwhile cause and that you will be able to make further contributions in the not too distant future.  

Worldwide, throughout the 80 countries in which Kiwanis is represented, you have raised an astonishing US$80 million.  This money will go towards the fight against Iodine Deficiency Disorders, the single most common cause of preventable mental retardation and brain damage in the world.

These initiatives and the substantial amounts raised are ample illustration of the importance of Kiwanis today.  I am sure they will act as encouragement for you to continue on your very successful path.

I am pleased to say that, worldwide, there is now a much stronger focus on children than there has been for some time.  We live in the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World, a global initiative by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation - one of the UN Specialised Agencies that work globally to assist those in every part of the world.

UNESCO recognises that, today more than ever, we need to reinforce our efforts to build a Culture of Peace, collectively and at all levels. One of the greatest challenges is to ensure better dialogue, understanding and sharing of information about the protection of children and the promotion of their rights between and among cultures and civilisations.

It is clear that hopes of a peaceful new millennium, to date at least, have been unfounded and that enormous harm and suffering is occurring to children through different forms of violence at every level of society throughout the world.  New conflicts, the reinvigoration of old ones, and the ongoing misery of economic hardship in many parts of the world guarantee that children are suffering in huge numbers in most corners of the globe. 

There is famine and forced internal migration.  There is forced recruitment of children to kill strangers and even their own families.  There is disease which could be treated but which cannot because of lack of resources or danger to those who would care for these children.  There is discrimination in the fields of education and healthcare because children are of the wrong sex or race, or simply because they are too young to vote and therefore too young to matter.  Children in so-called civilised societies have access to firearms and can kill each other or are killed by adults who themselves have guns or other lethal weapons, and simply don't care about the loss of young lives.  Millions of children are not having the sorts of lives we would wish for our own children or grandchildren.

I have long thought of the ways in which these abominations can be prevented, and have come to the conclusion that there is only one answer - and it will be a long struggle.  We have to recognise the role of education in constructing a culture of peace and non-violence, in particular teaching the practice of peace and non-violence to children, to promote the purposes and principles embodied in the Charter of the United Nations.

Those who have an education can better feed themselves and their children. They can participate better in the public life of their countries and can know and assert their own rights to peace and freedom from oppression.  They can be the role models instead of the victims.  They can educate their children and can dream of a better life for them, one where they can protect themselves from the coercion of those who might not always have their best interests at heart.  They can be better students and hospital patients because they can read and reason for themselves.

For Kiwanis, the focus on children is nothing new.  In fact you have been dedicated to creating a better future for our children since early last century.  Your hard work and zeal is to be admired, and you are to be congratulated on your wonderful contribution to the community at large.  And though the issues for New Zealand children may be different from those in the USA or in Iraq or in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, your organisation has been ready to work internationally for the sake of those whom you wish to benefit locally.

I thank you for all you have done for our children and for the children of people we will never meet. I wish you well, not just for this convention but for the future in general.  Finally, I want to thank the Napier branch of Kiwanis for being such gracious hosts.  It is no surprise that Kiwanis have chosen to return to Napier for a second conference, and I am certain it won't be the last time, either.