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COVID-19 is having an enormous impact on those involved in the arts, culture, heritage and sports sectors. Manatū Taonga is working closely with Crown entities and funded agencies to understand the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on our sector and to determine the most effective response in this fast-changing situation.
COVID-19 – Information for our sector
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The story of the Waikato-Tainui Treaty process and its enduring impact on the community is being told with a five-part web story launched on the 25th anniversary of settlement, announced Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni.
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The Ministry seeks to encourage people in their own communities to collect and share informal short interviews during the Covid-19 pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand. During this time you may decide to interview someone in your bubble, or someone outside it via online recording.
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The Fale Malae Trust says it is thrilled with the support provided in Budget 2020 for the Fale Malae Trust and Pasifika communities in their shared vision of building a twenty-first century Fale Malae in the heart of the capital’s Parliamentary precinct.
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The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is to stage two special Beethoven and Bach concerts in Wellington this month and livestream each performance.
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Kāinga Te tuakiri, te taonga tuku iho o Aotearoa Ngā whakamaharatanga me ngā huritau

Commemorations & anniversaries

Commemoration means marking an important historical event on or around a meaningful anniversary. Commemoration brings people together in physical and virtual spaces to reflect on the past and its relevance to the present. There doesn’t have to be a formal remembrance ceremony or a physical monument – commemoration could involve sharing historical information through a website, or creating artistic works that respond to an anniversary, for example.

The New Zealand Government has a policy on commemoration of historical anniversaries, first developed in 2009 and updated in 2014. Under this policy, a list of anniversaries to be commemorated is agreed several years in advance. This allows coordination and planning of government involvement in commemoration to take place.

Under the policy, anniversaries are categorised as either Tier 1 or Tier 2. Tier 1 (major) anniversaries relate to events whose impact was felt throughout the nation or changed New Zealand significantly. There should be a significant level of cross-government involvement in marking Tier 1 anniversaries. Tier 2 anniversaries concern events that were still important but had less national impact.

Occasionally, as with the centenary of the First World War from 2014-2019, dedicated funding may be available to support commemorations. However, most commemorative activity (particularly for Tier 2 anniversaries) is funded from within departmental baselines.

Anniversaries on the Government’s list should generally be:

  • of significance to the nation as a whole
  • of events that took place in New Zealand, involved New Zealanders or have a clear connection to New Zealand
  • a multiple of 25 years since the event in question (e.g. 25th, 50th, 100th anniversaries)
  • representative of the diversity of New Zealanders’ historical experiences.

A list of anniversaries for 2014-2020 was agreed in 2014, and the following anniversaries were authorised for 2020.

Commemorations for 2020

Tier 1 

Tier 2 

The Ministry for Culture and Heritage is currently looking at refreshing the commemorations policy and extending the list of anniversaries beyond 2020.

Other commemorations

Some commemorations take place annually: for example, Waitangi Day commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and Anzac Day commemorates New Zealanders’ involvement in war.

Te Pūtake o te Riri, He Rā Maumhara, was observed for the first time in 2018. It is the national day of commemoration for the New Zealand Wars, and takes place on 28 October. Visit Te Puni Kōkiri’s website for more information about this commemoration, and about Te Pūtake o te Riri | Wars and Conflicts in New Zealand Fund.

There are many important anniversaries every year, and it is not possible to include them all on the government’s commemorations programme. Organisations outside government may decide to mark these anniversaries, and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage is always happy to hear about community-led commemorations. The Ministry may, for example, be able to publicise such commemorations through its online channels.

New Zealanders' views on commemoration

In 2019, Colmar Brunton conducted a public opinion survey for the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, looking at New Zealanders’ views on commemoration. The final report on the survey's findings is available here.

 

 

Updated on 5th May 2020