City of Compassion
October 11, 2019
Ko Tātou, Tātou We Are One
The people of Christchurch, New Zealand, were awarded the Charter for Compassion’s prestigious #Compassion #Humanitarian #Award in recognition of their response to the terror attacks at two Christchurch Mosques, at an awards ceremony on 10 October in Monterrey, Mexico.
Lianne Dalziel, the Mayor of Christchurch, in a video message played at the Charter’s ten-year anniversary event in Monterrey, said of the community response to the attack, in which 51 people were killed, "The incredible outpouring of love, compassion and kindness was the instinctive response of the people of Christchurch to the horrific events on March 15, when our #Muslim brothers and sisters were attacked in their place of worship as they prayed...
We thank the Charter for Compassion for recognising Christchurch on the international stage as we too wish to play our part in making sure that this becomes the way in which we reconnect to our humanity, and that we reject violence, we reject hatred and we reject all that divides us. We are one.’"
The Charter for Compassion has now also designated Christchurch a ‘Compassionate City’, joining 441 other cities across the world. David Dahlin, the new Executive Director of the Charter for Compassion, said, "I believe we can only achieve a world of love and peace by working within, between, and beyond religious traditions."
The people of Christchurch embody the true spirit of what it means to be human, and are worthy recipients of the Compassion Humanitarian Award. We can accomplish more than we can imagine to transform society by igniting the power of compassion.’
The Charter for Compassion was formed in 2009 as Karen Armstrong’s TEDPrize, after she was given $100,000 and a single wish by TED to change the world. The first Compassion Humanitarian Awards were made in San Francisco in 2014.
There are important lessons here for those watching New Zealand's own homegrown platforms which are taxpayer supported through NZ on Air. Whether freeview or payview, what are we actually seeing and why? what are we actually paying for and why? Are we simply paying millions to subsidise commercially fragile kiwi media platforms or are we paying to ensure a future for kiwi made factual content? These questions are particularly relevant as the government considers new funding models for both film and television.
The property was purchased by Habitus Group for the development of six new sustainable homes. But before they could start any new builds on the site they had to deal with the old and what job! Check out the Habitus link below.
https://habitusgroup.co.nz/showcase/