Editor’s Pick: You may notice a distinctly New Zealand flavoured theme for your five minutes of good news this week. I kept discovering projects and people to get excited about, all within Aotearoa borders. In particular, three interesting Maori pieces cropped up – including one inspiring blog written by a young and optimistic tane (male) who is on a mission to make the most of life, a new Maori Business Directory, and discussion about the Maori flag. The more I look, the more Maori people I discover who are proud of their people and who are forging ahead and creating the lives they dream of. They’re speaking out about it too, sharing their experiences as with their people, and for this I’m grateful. The more that people remind us of the of the many taonga/treasures of te ao/world Maori, the more we as a nation will focus upon them. Charlotte Squire Good News Roundup The Happyzine mission: weed out the words of kindness from Parliament and splatter them all over the … general good news section of the Happyzine website. Who was first to reply to Charlotte Squire’s innocent yet probing questions? The Minister of Revenue, Associate Minister of Health, MP for Ohariu, and United Future Leader Peter Dunne. And check out this Happyzine profile of Dean Easterbrook. He’s a Director and Executive Producer for Borderless Productions. Based in Auckland these people are film makers who are making a positive difference to the world “We champion the human spirit – through our work people are called to committed action that produces positive change. Our work enables people to deal powerfully with the challenges of life calling forth their leadership and uniting families and empowering communities around the globe to work successfully together.” . He’s been working successfully with his partner in comedy Bret McKensie – New Zealand’s own Jemaine Clemant of the Conchords is set to star in a big budget Hollywood animated film (Stuff.co.nz). Also world acclaimed is New Zealand author Dame Fiona Kidman has lead a life packed full of opportunity. Here she reflects on the past four years of writing her own memiors (Stuff.co.nz) Onto positive Maori news – now you can submit your business details to, search in, and advertise on a new Maori Business Directory. Register today and watch this great idea grow. Maori are currently deciding which of four flags they want to fly at Parliament and the Auckland Habour Bridge.
Check out this positive-spirited Maori blog – Mean Maori Mean – it’s written by a Maori tane in his twenties who is committed to living his dreams and encouraging others to do the same. This is a great opportunity for someone with aspirations to achieve positive change for youth – Vodafone are paying people’s salaries, for one year, here in Aotearoa to make a positive difference in young people’s lives. Anyone can apply, just be quick to check out their site because they’re taking applications now. This should be fun – if you’re a keen writer and will be in Christchurch on the 2nd of August 2009, how about you participate in a one day writing competition? Click here for details. Lets nip offshore for a moment – in the States, a young and determined entreprenuer has won an award award for for her work as founder and Editor of a successful Hip Hop magazine (Indystar.com). Onto environmental good news: Here in New Zealand we treat our kiwi good. Check out this DoC release on the tale of one Kiwi that was down, but only for a week thanks to the care and attention of a several groups of people within the Tongariro National Park community (Department of Conservation). In Central Otago a community conservation project has been developed with the goal of reintroducing critically endangered lizards (Southland Times.co.nz).
“Calling all future-forward architects, urban designers, renegade planners and imaginative engineers: Show us how you would re-invent the suburbs!” Time to get creative and offer innovative solutions for the future of the ‘burbs. This exciting competition is the brainchild of Dwell Magazine and Inhabitat.com
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