Migrant Services

Migrant Information Co-ordinator

Waitakere New Settlers' Guide

World Refugee Day, 20 June 2010

Settlement Support services available in your area

Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and CAB Language Link

The changing faces of Waitakere City

Migration Trends

National and Culturally Significant Days for August

Latest news from the Office of Ethnic Affairs

World Refugee Day 2009 - Real People, Real Needs

Research Reports and Useful Information

Languages of the World

Talofa Lava, Fakalofa Lahi atu, Malo e lelei, Kia Orana, Ni Sa Bula, Halo olaketa, Namaste, Ni Hao, Insa, Dobro Dosli, Welkom

Multicultural and Migrant Services are provided to enable those who are newly arrived in New Zealand, or are non-English speaking members of the community to gain access to the library and to library services and facilities. In addition, migrant services exist to provide information, or access to information to assist new migrants to effectively settle in Waitakere.

Waitakere Libraries provide our multi-ethnic population with books, resources, programmes and information related to their specific needs and interests.

We can provide special assistance to those for whom English is not a first language. Many of our staff are multilingual and come from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. Printed information is also available in a number of languages.

Migrant Information Coordinator	Waitakere New Settlers' Guide
World Refugee Day 2010	Citizens Advice Bureau
Settlement Support	Migration Trends
The changing face of Waitakere	News from the Office of Ethnic Affairs
National and Culturally Significant Days	World Refugee Day 2009
Research Reports	Languages of the World

In addition to a Multicultural Services Advisor, Waitakere Library and Information Services employ a Migrant Information Coordinator. The Coordinator works closely with other Library staff and community-based organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau to ensure that the information requirements of new settlers are adequately provided for. Other collaborative initiatives the Coordinator is involved in include New Out West and Settlement Support Waitakere.

The Migrant Information Coordinator is an accessible point of contact for migrants and refugees within Waitakere City and is available to meet with groups and individuals to answer queries, respond to issues of concern and to provide appropriate referrals for specific information requests.

Promoting awareness of the library services is an essential component of the Coordinator's role. In some cases, new settlers may be hesitant to visit their libraries and may not be aware of the some of the exciting initiatives being introduced, such as Learning Centres. There are numerous reasons for this and introductory tours and presentations can be arranged by the Migrant Information Coordinator or the Multicultural Services Advisor

Waitakere Libraries are committed to providing equitable services to all city residents and the Migrant Information Coordinator seeks to strengthen the Libraries' mutual relationships with the city's diverse communities. Through these relationships the Coordinator can work collaboratively to provide relevant information services that reflect the dynamic interests of current and future library users.

One successful example of Waitakere City Council's commitment to supporting settlement is the publication of the Waitakere New Settlers' Guide. This Guide provides essential information for new residents in an easy-to-read format and copies are available at each library and online. For more information contact Libraries.

The Waitakere New Settlers' Guide 2009 is a free, 80 page booklet packed with essential information for migrants with additional features about the many local attractions and community facilities across our city.

It has been produced by Waitakere Library and Information Services in association with Settlement Support New Zealand.

The Guide is a helpful resource for people who are new to Waitakere and it will also be useful for people who have been living here for a few years and who may want to find out more about what's available locally.

There are sections on important things to do first, employment, education, libraries, starting a business, learning English, Council services, transport, safety, household information and much more.

The Guide is comprehensive yet easy to read and is now available in print and online in Samoan, Chinese, Korean, Arabic and Japanese languages. The online Spanish edition and Hindi edition are also available.

"The publication of the New Settlers' Guide affirms our commitment to the successful settlement of migrants and refugees in Waitakere and enables new settlers to access the information they need," says Su Scott, Group Manager, Waitakere Library and Information Services.

Copies of the Waitakere New Settlers' Guide are available at your local library, Citizens Advice Bureau, the Council's Civic Centre, Community Houses and migrant service organisations.

An online version is available to be downloaded below.

Note: You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view and print these documents. For help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful Tips.

World Refugee Day is a day to celebrate both the courage and resilience of refugees and the goodwill of host communities who welcome them to their new homes.

Former refugees can now be found in every walk of life and they continue to make a positive and significant contribution to the social, cultural and economic fabric of our increasingly multicultural society. New Zealand's main refugee resettlement agency is Refugee Services Aotearoa New Zealand and since beginning in 1976 they have assisted many refugees to settle and build a future in New Zealand. This country accepts up to 750 refugees per year as part of a commitment to fulfilling our international humanitarian obligations and responsibilities.

To celebrate World Refugee Day, Waitakere Libraries have published a special booklet featuring stories by youngsters from Somalia, Afghanistan, Burma and Iran, whose families have shown immense courage and determination in making the journeys from their countries of origin to New Zealand, to build new lives and to be part of our dynamic and vibrant community.

The booklet has been produced in association with Settlement Support New Zealand and provides an opportunity for these youngsters to express their cultural identity and to describe their families' experiences of life in New Zealand. It also includes information about volunteering with refugee communities. Printed copies are available at all local libraries and an electronic version can be downloaded below.

Note: You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view and print this document. For help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful Tips.

World Refugee Day, 20 June 2010 (Size 762K)

It's not always easy to find the information you need about employment, education, health services and many other aspects of living in New Zealand. The biggest challenge is knowing where to find this information. Settlement Support New Zealand provides easy access to information you'll need to know about when settling in Waitakere. This is a free service available to all newcomers.

Find out more

There are four Citizens Advice Bureaus in Waitakere at Henderson, New Lynn, Massey and Glen Eden.

Each CAB is right next door to a library and CABs are for everyone and the friendly people at the CAB can help you find the answers to questions on just about anything. See the Waitakere New Settlers' Guide on this web page for a map showing where your nearest CAB is located.

CAB Language Link is a free, confidential telephone interpreter service that provides information, advice and referrals in 26 languages. CAB Language Link (previously known as the Multilingual Information Service) is available Monday to Friday on (09) 624 2550 and trained interviewers can provide answers to all kinds of enquiries in the language you prefer.

Find out more

Multicultural Parade Statistics New Zealand has recently provided the following data from the 2006 Census about our communities and neighbourhoods.

Find out more about the increasing diversity of Waitakere City by viewing the Waitakere Ethnicity Summary below.

Note: You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view and print this document. For help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful Tips.

Waitakere Ethnicity Summary 2006 (Size 499K)

Every month Statistics New Zealand publishes a summary of migration trends in New Zealand. The International travel and Migration report provides detailed information on the number of permanent and long-term migrants entering and leaving New Zealand.

Read the latest report

This month's highlight is National Library Week, from 16 - 22 August. Korea, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia are among many countries celebrating key national dates in August and The UN International Day of Indigenous People takes place on 9 August. To view the full list of dates click here:

Note: You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view and print this document. For help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful Tips.

National and Culturally Significant Days for August (Size 40K)

Ethnic Affairs logo The latest edition of Ethnic Whispers is full of exciting news and has a special feature on Constable Phillip Pithyou, an Assyrian New Zealander serving with the Police. There is also an informative section on the upcoming registration of financial service providers, available in seven languages.

Read the complete version of Ethnic Whispers.

Note: You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view and print these documents. For help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful Tips.

Along with a large number of other countries, New Zealand celebrated World Refugee Day with a variety of activities in different centres and Waitakere Libraries organised information displays (including a specially produced brochure) at each library during June.	Four Waitakere residents who have fled persecution in other countries and who now live safely in New Zealand shared their personal stories in Waitakere, a place to call home, a booklet produced to celebrate World Refugee Day.
Read Waitakere Libraries' World Refugee Day 2009 Brochure (Size 130K)	Read Waitakere, a place to call home (Size 168K)

Do you want to know more about current research on immigration being conducted in New Zealand? The Integration of Immigrants Programme is a five year research programme led by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from Massey University and the University of Waikato and funded by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology. View a selection of published research papers.

The Department of Labour has recently published a research report on the economic impact of immigration in New Zealand. The objective of this study is to better understand the impact of immigration on the New Zealand economy overall and on different parts of the economy. Modelling has been applied to test the impact of additional influences that immigrants might have on productivity and trade and results are compared with those from a similar study conducted in the 1980s and a more recent study undertaken for the Australian economy. Read the full report.

English Version
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Arabic Version
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Chinese Version
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Spanish Version
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Japanese Version
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Korean Version
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Samoan Version
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Hindi Version
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Have you ever wondered what languages are spoken in different parts of the world?

The Language Ethnologue is a fascinating resource that contains comprehensive information about thousands of languages, their characteristics, evolution and details about linguistic groups large of all sizes and geographic areas.