Today in History

2003 Race Relations Day celebrated for first time

Race Relations Day was first formally celebrated in 2003 with the theme, ‘Hands Up for Kiwis of Every Race and Place’. The theme for 2011 is ‘People in Harmony’.

Previous themes have been ‘Take a Walk in Someone Else’s Shoes’ (2004), ‘Together We Grow: Te Ranga Tahi’ (2005), ‘Aotearoa New Zealand, Turangawaewae, Our Home’ (2006), ‘New Zealand Aotearoa: 4 all of us’ (2007), ‘Finding Common Ground’ (2008), ‘People in your Neighbourhood’ (2009), and ‘It’s About Us – Whanau’ (2010).

21 March is observed around the world as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It recalls the killing of 69 black protestors at Sharpeville in South Africa in 1960. The day has been dedicated by the United Nations to the achievement of the goals of the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. New Zealand signed the convention on 25 October 1966 and ratified it on 22 November 1972.