Harita Gandhi: Pursuing academic and community interests in Wellington

“The most important thing for New Zealand for developing Asia-NZ relations is to appreciate that New Zealand is a diversified country instead of just accepting it”, says Wellington-based Young Leader, Harita Gandhi.

In order to improve New Zealand society and intercultural relations here Harita proposes encouraging more young people to learn another language and to go on overseas exchange. She also recommends employing people from other countries in sectors matching their qualifications, not just those areas in which New Zealand lacks expertise.

Harita is a New Zealand-born Indian who speaks fluent Gujarati and understands Hindi. She says she has learnt much about Indian culture by learning classical Indian dance. Her four trips to India have also shown her how to “appreciate seeing two different ways of life.”

Harita feels at an advantage by knowing two diverse cultures really well. “I can be 'Indian' when I want to and 'Kiwi' when I want to,” she adds.

Harita is currently in her fourth year at Victoria University doing a BCA Honours in Management. She has gained a wealth of experience in academic and community pursuits during her tertiary education. Her undergraduate degree was in Management, Accounting and Commercial Law. She is a member of the Victoria Commerce Association and a volunteer note-taker. In addition, she is in the process of gaining a Victoria Plus Award which involves attending career building workshops, volunteer work and helping out university and community organisations.

Harita’s involvement with Asia:NZ began just over one year ago when she became a founding member of the Steering Committee and attended the 2008 Forum. Her work with the Steering Committee involves prioritising Young Leader activities, Forum planning and developing contact facilities for members. This year she has also helped facilitate the Emerging Leaders Forum in Tauranga. She particularly enjoyed the Emerging Leaders Forum because she felt the team was really involved in educating and giving back to the community.

In the future Harita aims to become a Chartered Accountant. She would like to work overseas in Singapore or Japan and hopefully learn Japanese. Harita would also like to travel as a dancer and perform in a variety of countries.