Outlook 11 - Intersections: Southeast Asia and diaspora engagement
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Intersections: Southeast Asia and diaspora engagement provides an overview of the Southeast Asian diasporas in New Zealand and of the New Zealand diaspora in Southeast Asia. Written by Christchurch geographer Robert Didham, the report argues that these two communities represent a growing impetus for closer links with Southeast Asia.
The report was launched by Asia:NZ executive director Dr Richard Grant at an event co-hosted by the Foundation, the New Zealand High Commission and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore on 14 December. Dr Grant explained that this latest Outlook report is part of a series of papers looking at New Zealanders in Asia. Forthcoming studies examine the New Zealand diaspora in China and South Asia.
“These papers will be the first published research from New Zealand on this topic and will inform what is becoming a very important part of New Zealand’s engagement with the Asian region,” he added.
New Zealand’s diaspora ranks as the largest among developed world countries as a proportion of the resident population. Attracted by climate, diversity and opportunity, an increasing number of New Zealanders are settling for lengthy periods and, indeed, permanently in parts of Asia.
A rough estimate places the number of Kiwis in Southeast Asia between 8,000 and 12,000, which makes it barely visible within Southeast Asia. This does not, however, imply that it is without significance and the report cites a number of examples of New Zealanders having an influence in fields such as tourism and public relations in their host countries disproportionate to their numbers.
Nearly 44,000 people born in Southeast Asian countries live in New Zealand making it proportionately a much larger community. Most have relatively recent migration histories. Some of the groups have origins in refugee flows of people escaping conflict, with continued migration through family reunification and family formation. Other groups have origins in labour and education migration – moving to New Zealand for work or education and staying.
The report argues that the two diasporas present enormous advantages in policy efforts to build strong sustained links with Southeast Asia, particularly in light of the emerging Free Trade Agreement involving New Zealand and ASEAN countries. One of the key cross-cutting resources that these connections open up for instance is access to the language skills of migrants and their families.
The report concludes that the activities and support of key agencies such as, in the case of New Zealand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, are vital to the successful development of connections between local commerce and export industries.
Read more:
Contacts may help business: report - Catherine Harris, Dominion Post
Dr Grant's speech in Singapore launching the report on 14 December
