Christchurch Invitation
by Mahia te Aroha
The aftermath of the Christchurch mosque attacks in 2019 produced a sense of unreality; that “this is not us! This is not Aotearoa New Zealand. These things don’t happen here.” That same aftermath saw a wave of compassion.One response to all of this was the quiet launch of The Christchurch Invitation: Mahia te Aroha (Action the Compassion) – as a platform for inclusive conversations. Listen to “Christchurch Invitation" for conversations with a wide range of people – about identity and what it means to belong.
Episodes
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Ep 39: Pedro Ilgenfritz – Physical Theatre: learning who are you are and speaking without words
How do we speak? What messages do we send out, even unconsciously? We can take three elements: the words you use, your tone of voice, and your body language, and reflect that it's the record of the words spoken that have been held up to history as most significant. E.M.Forster asked "How can I…
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Ep 38: Former Mayor Garry Moore – Active citizenship, localism, and how those out of work deserve better
Is unemployment just a necessary consequence of economic reality or more like a moral choice? Do political differences mean you can’t sit and talk together? What might a recognition of local knowledge and abilities bring that central government might not? Garry Moore “ran out of excuses” against...
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Ep 37: Lyn Cotton & Jolt Dance: rich creative opportunities for the intellectually disabled
All of our stories invite questions, because history isn’t just about what happened; it’s what gets recorded and retold. It’s about what we see and the assumptions we make. What we learn and the opportunities that arise. So we can ask ‘who is visible in our communities and who is not?’ And today...
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Ep 36: Solangie (Sol) Gil – From Bogotá to opportunities in New Zealand
What do we see here – those of us who arrive in New Zealand as migrants? And what do we bring? The Pacific is vast, but in terms of migration, South America is like a near neighbour to us. Sol Gill grew up in Bogotá, Colombia, 2,600 metres above sea level and in a country more than four times the...
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Ep 35: Hineātea Alexander – a Wāhine Māori at the Youth Parliament: what are we prepared to hear from them?
The Youth Parliament comes every three years. Young, politically minded individuals, nominated by, yet not representing, MPs from across the country. Each with the issues they want to speak to. In 2025, one part of Hineātea Alexander’s focus was on equity and justice. Here, she talks of growing…
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Ep 34: Anne Talsnes on memory and witness – Lessons and Learnings from Terror in Norway
We build our nations on memory but no country has a pain-free history. Yet what we choose to remember is wrapped in political perspectives, in questions of identity, and in ways of seeing. “Memory is politics. It’s a choice,” says Anne Talsnes. Anne is the Senior Advisor to the 22 July Centre in...
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Ep 33: Tanya Jenkins – migration, and the rich lessons of a long-distance traveller
The bar-tailed godwit weighs just 300grms. From New Zealand, each year, they double their weight to fly to the Yellow Sea, then to Alaska. In Spring they return – a non-stop flight of eight or nine days; 11,000 - 12,000kms! Sometimes people can be born and grow up in a place but never feel…
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Ep 32: Jeremy Faumuinā – Elite Sports and Intellectual Disabilities
How do we make spaces for others – not spaces with limits, but so that any disability in one dimension doesn’t limit big possibilities in another? What support and pathways can we create to unlock potential, create structure and belonging? Back in episode 5, Jeremy Faumuinā Spoke about his work…
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Ep 31: Arianna Gayle & Adam Elsayigh – “Memorial”: a verbatim drama of loss
How do you tell people’s stories so they can say “Yes, you have heard me. That is what I want to say.” This is the second of two conversations on the development of the verbatim drama, “Memorial.” A play that, in a sense, gives permission for hard, suppressed questions about Muslims as “others”…
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Ep 30: Arianna Gayle Stucki – A verbatim drama, people’s stories of loss as they want them told
The first of two conversations via zoom. It’s with Arianna Gayle Stucki in the USA, in discussion on how the verbatim drama "Memorial" came to be. We've talked about how stories get told; who tells them; and how that telling may take the story away from the one it belongs to. This is different.…
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Ep 29 - Wrapping up the first series
Today’s episode is the last In this first series of the Christchurch Invitation. (Before a break of a couple of months) Here I’ve pulled together a few clips to give something of the flavour of these conversations: Mark Solomon and Raesha Ismail on connections; John Sellwood on stories and who…
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Ep. 28 Looking Back
Today’s episode will be the second to last In this first series of the Christchurch Invitation. (Before a break of a couple of months to reflect on what I’m trying to do, and to plan ahead!) So this will be a kind of looking back at some of the pathways we’ve wandered through; at what’s been…
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Ep 27: Hassan Hassan & Merhawi Gebremichael
It’s a truism that once you’ve made a journey you’re better placed to understand its demands. And hopefully pass on the learnings. Arriving in NZ, even with mastery of a range of other languages, there can still be struggles that the native English speaker may not recognise. A chronological age…
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Ep 26: Patrick O’Conner: A celebratory notion of difference
Patrick O’Conner’s life has been with people and communities, and for the marginalised. He grew up in a Christchurch home of six children that was shaped around practical, Catholic values and with his father’s reminder that your work is to be “kind and charitable.” Involvement in 1969 with the...
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Ep 25: Peri Drysdale: Untouched World – finding common ground and a richer sense of relationships
As a company name, “Untouched World” hints at something quietly distinctive: beautiful materials, restrained elegance. Along with that, a significant recognition for sustainability and high quality. A Christchurch-based company, it counts among its wearers some very recognisable public figures. I...
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Ep. 24: Student Co-Design Team – "Action the Compassion"
This conversation brings together three members of a student co-design team “Action the Compassion”: Eric Antony, Teresa Steiner, and Ewan Mander. The Action the Compassion student huis are something like a sibling to these Christchurch Invitation podcasts: they developed out of the same place of...
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Ep 23: Mark Solomon: "Connections, relationships, and knowing who you are"
For Tā Mark Solomon (Sir Mark Solomon) knowing who you are; knowing your family's relationships; and treating others with respect are crucial. As Kaiwhakahaere (Chairperson) of Ngā Tahu for eighteen years, there was much that he learned to listen to and watch, and many elders to learn from. He...
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Ep 22 Wayne Marriott – Conflict resolution, mediation, and peace-building
If conflicts are a fact of life, left unmanaged, they can be costly. And not just in financial terms. Yet, “when handled constructively, conflict is a normal and useful part of life.” Today, Wayne Marriott speaks of his work in conflict resolution and management, mediation and more – in short,...
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Ep 21: Lianne Dalziel: “Looking back to understand, not to blame”
Lianne Dalziel's three terms as Mayor of Christchurch included the savage experience of the 2019 mosque attacks. But as a citizen of Christchurch and, for an extended period, as a local Member of Parliament, she's also experienced earthquakes, fires, and more. That direct, lived experience, is…
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Ep 20: Farid Ahmad: Pt 2 – On stubbornness, justice, and principle
Farid Ahmed’s name became very widely known when his wife, Husna, was killed in the Christchurch mosque attacks in March 2019 and he forgave the killer. In Episode 18 of these podcasts we spoke about his upbringing in Sylhet, Bangladesh; witnessing his father’s role as something akin to a village...
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Ep. 19: Tyla Harrison-Hunt – “The leader eats last: Intersectionality, servant leadership, and faith”
Intersectionality means pulling together, working from the different strands of who we are. And for Tyla Harrison-Hunt working like this is a strength, not a burden. He offers the example of high performing teams where amazing collective leadership is a powerful element in their success. In the...
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Ep 18: Farid Ahmed – “On becoming who I am”
In the March 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack, Farid Ahmed’s wife, Husna, was killed. He and his daughter then spoke together about the path they should take. It would be one, not of anger and retribution, but of forgiveness. He said, “ I do not want to have a heart like a volcano.” That...
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Ep 17: John Psathas – “Music for connection and compassion, and the quality of the human relationships that we build”
When the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) were exploring how they, as the nation’s orchestra, could respond to the events of the 2019 Christchurch terror attacks and bring people together, they turned to the composer John Psathas. In 2024 that NZSO initiative resulted in three performances…
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Ep 16: Raesha Ismail – "Rich lessons in life from the corner dairy”
The corner dairy is a familiar part of our landscape. The lives lived inside unknown to those just passing. Raesha Ismail was nine years old when her family bought the dairy on Springs Road, Christchurch. For a child it was a space full of treats that offered a joyful time. There, her parents...
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Ep 15: John Sellwood – “About stories, how they’re told, and the need to step back from judgement”
Over almost forty-five years of working in journalism – first in radio, then television – John Sellwood’s experiences taught him many lessons. From one, very early, “live cross” in Wellington the need to listen, double-check, then triple-check were all brought home to him. If things can go wrong,...
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Ep 14: Colin Mansbridge – “Crusaders rugby and their place in the community”
To belong somewhere it seems helpful to have a kind of a map – of its people, their names, and the organisations that are prominent parts of that landscape. In Canterbury, Crusaders rugby is one such prominent name. Known for their many successes, for the coaches and the culture they’ve built…
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Ep 13: Hassan Hassan – Sharing the Blessing of Education and Giving Back
Arriving in New Zealand at the age of 15 knowing virtually no English meant that Hassan Hassan could only watch soccer and not join in. When the chance came for him to play, the words from his coach to “push up on the wing” were little more than sounds. More importantly, that lack of English...
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Ep 12: Maka Mohi – Finding Your Way Back Home
Pukehina in the Bay of Plenty is tiny. Growing up there, Maka Mohi knew where to fish and where to hunt. But the narratives he heard were that elsewhere was amazing; the Māori world wasn’t amazing. A misstep in high school meant leaving so, at 17, "thinking I was 24," he left for big city…
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Ep 11: Temel Ataçocuğu – The journey with pain, and walking for peace
At a time when the NZ government is discussing firearms legislation we consider the great harm from weapons in the wrong hands. Temel Ataçocuğu suffered major bullet injuries in the Christchurch mosque attacks. Almost six years on, he speaks about the drastic changes in his life, and on how his...
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Ep 10: Tony Green & Sara Qasem: Turning the tables
In a previous conversation, Bariz Shah suggested the tables should be turned and the host (that’s me) should be questioned. I dwelt on that for a while, then asked Sara Qasem to be the questioner (There seemed a kind of balance: Sara was one of the speakers at the 2021 launch of The Christchurch...
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Ep 9: Zahra Emamzadeh – talking of Iran, and home
We're told that nearly 28% of New Zealand's population were born elsewhere. We come as outsiders, and learn to live in this quieter place where the streets, by comparison, can seem almost empty. Assumptions are often made: "Oh, you're from ______. That means . . . " It seems valuable to ask what…
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Ep. 8 Bariz Shah – on rich learnings; on where we best place our trust; and on where we find peace
If we cannot dictate what happens to us, our power is in how we choose to respond. From being “played out” by someone he thought of as a friend, Bariz Shah learned to have higher loyalties. Prison offered a disconnect from what was hurting him but systems do not easily forgive or forget. So you...
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Ep. 7: Mel Logan & Hakan Ilhan – mother and son: on strong personalities and on working through differences
We enter a challenging world depending on our mothers. Then journey to realise ourselves as individuals. The young person making their own choices, even if they're "dumb" or seem dumb to others. The mother, here a single parent, concerned to protect, yet fearing losing her boys. In this...
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Ep 6 Shirley Wright – on a life with people as the focus and how her work is a privilege
In Shirley Wright’s childhood her father’s habit of inviting people home meant interesting conversations around the dinner table. Even in a family with seven children there was always enough food for one more: you “put another spud in the pot.” She talks here about the inherited memories she grew...
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Ep 5: Jeremy Faumuinā – On honouring the spaces between us
With the NZ Police Jeremy Faumuinā says, "I get paid to care" for youth and community. Working with people who "haven't had encouragement" he explores what success looks like for them. And that key concern: what world will our young people inherit? His conviction is with the power of conversation...
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Rosemary Omar – on ancestry (whakapapa), restorative justice, and keeping personal that which was private and precious
Savage attacks are deeply unsettling. Individuals, and their families are tested. Media may be hungry for stories. Our whakapapa – our, sometimes complex, lines of identity – may not be recognised. And then your child’s teacher might say, simply, “Just be here! Sit here in your own space!”…
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Chris Starr – on schools, places of incarceration, counselling, and the creation of safe spaces
On his work in counselling: the privilege of working with young people and alongside men who are in prison; on helping people realise who they have in their corner; on the possibility of jiujitsu for building trust and overcoming anger; and more . . .
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Engineer Bill White on finding joy in work and sharing research for the common good
Bill White on his journey as an engineer; of how work done cheerfully is work done differently. Of being comfortable with mistakes and and accepting what others might see as physical limitations; of how sharing his researches on hydrogen power – the fuel of the future – has to beyond…
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Sara Qasem – speaking past labels
The past does not define us but it shapes and lives on. Sara Qasem is a poet, a high school teacher; someone who responds strongly to the flavours of her Palestinian heritage and her life here in New Zealand.Her father, Abdelfattah Qasem, was killed in the March 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks....
About this show
The aftermath of the Christchurch mosque attacks in 2019 produced a sense of unreality; that “this is not us! This is not Aotearoa New Zealand. These things don’t happen here.” That same aftermath saw a wave of compassion.One response to all of this was the quiet launch of The Christchurch Invitation: Mahia te Aroha (Action the Compassion) – as a platform for inclusive conversations. Listen to “Christchurch Invitation" for conversations with a wide range of people – about identity and what it means to belong.
Hosted by
Mahia te Aroha