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Last modified: 29 Jul 2020 10:48am

Over the past 12 months 372 new citizens have been welcomed at 12 citizenship ceremonies. The new Selwyn residents, come from 40 different countries across the world.

Over that period the four country’s providing the most new arrivals were Britain with 136, South Africa with 45, the Philippines with 33 and India with 25.

The Selwyn district has also welcomed new residents from Iraq, Tanzania, Afghanistan, Kenya and Nepal, as well as a range of countries around the world.

Mayor Sam Broughton says it’s positive to see the district become home to a wide range of nationalities.

Mayor Sam Broughton “As a growing district it’s fantastic to see people from all over the world wanting to make Selwyn a permanent home. “Our growing diversity continues to enhance our district, and the vibrancy it has.” Data from the 2013 Census had Selwyn showing significant growth in terms of diversity. It reviewed where people had come from prior to moving to Selwyn.

The data showed new residents had moved from the likes of South Africa, Fiji, India, the Netherlands, China and a range of other countries.

Mayor Sam Broughton is looking forward to the upcoming Census to get a firm idea on how Selwyn is growing, and who is living here. “We rely on interim data from Statistics New Zealand, but the true data from the census will help us in key decision making.”

Selwyn is part of a two year Welcoming Communities pilot programme involving eight other councils in five regions across New Zealand. It aims to mobilise and involve local residents in welcoming activities.

Previous settlement initiatives have focused primarily on supporting newcomers, the new approach creates bridges between members of the receiving community and newcomers. One part of the programme is for each council and community to produce a Welcoming Plan that outlines what action is needed to meet the Welcoming Communities Standard, a benchmark for what a successful welcoming community looks like. The Selwyn Welcoming Plan, to be launched in August, should be read alongside the 2015 Newcomer and Migrants Strategy.

The work the Selwyn District Council has already done has been recognised by the Christchurch Multicultural Council, who thanked the Council for initiatives like the CultureFest, and other activities which work to welcome newcomers and migrants.