Vocal Roots

05/11/2025

Our recent panel created space for refugee background youth to share their experiences with navigating mental health and well being!

It was deeply affirming to have our elders in the room showing up for us, and to hear from Dulani on the changes and improvements she’s seen through her years in the health sector supporting culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

Our main take away from the panel was that these conversations can happen with understanding, respect and openness. We’re also proud to see more people with this shared lived experience stepping forward to represent us in these vital spaces as health professionals. 👏🏿✨🤎

20/10/2025

Expressions of interest are now open for Africa Month 2026 🥳

We’re calling artists, creatives and organisers to be part of next years programme that celebrates African diaspora cultures, creativity and communities across Tamaki Makaurau.

Applications close Monday 10 November 2026z

Find all the details here: https://linktr.ee/vocalroots_

19/10/2025

What happens when young people lead the conversation?

We see honesty, courage, and connection come to life.

As part of Mental Health Awareness Week refugee background youth came together for ‘Top Up Together: Refugee background youth in conversation’ to have a kōrero on mental health, belonging, and resilience.

It’s rare to have the opportunity to speak so candidly about these topics, and even rarer for youth to take the lead. Hearing their insights and lived experiences was inspiring and affirming to know that some of our panelists also work in the health sector, shaping positive change for our communities from within.

It was particularly special to hear from Dulani Abeysinghe, who has spent 18 years in the health sector, share her experience supporting our culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Aotearoa.

Our panelists, supported by our moderator Mohamed, spoke about the challenges refugee background youth face and how they top up their mental health, what still needs to change, and what they wish schools, workplaces, and communities understood better.

Thank you to our incredible panelists Saba, Samirah, Abrar and Younis and to Mt Roskill Collective, Wellbeing Trust, NZ Ethnic Women’s Trust, Tamkin Project, Rohingya Association New Zealand for working with us to plan and execute this event.

And finally a massive shoutout to Planet FM for providing a safe, warm and inviting space for IRL kōrero.

📸

09/07/2025

Throwing it back to Afrokin Youth Fest where a few months ago we came together to celebrate creativity, culture, and community as part of both Africa Month and Aotearoa Music Month 🎶🤎✨

Swipe through some of the powerful moments captured by

10/06/2025

Our Research + Archiving 101 workshop was an insightful, reflective and powerful end to Africa Month and May!

Thank you so much to Research Librarian Anna for an informative tour of the Research Central and to Dr Andrea for an empowering conversation about how we can take the lead to research and archive for ourselves, our families and wider communities.

30/05/2025

Research + Archiving workshop ready with Dr Andrea Edwards ✨

30/05/2025

Attending Lema Shamamba’s artist talk today at Objectspace was a powerful reminder of how art can speak truth, build understanding, and drive change.

Lema’s work, alongside the voices of the incredible Women of Hope here in Tāmaki Makaurau, brings light to issues that are urgent, human, and too often overlooked. These aren’t just “their” issues, they should be important to all of us.

Thank you Lema for your courage, and thank you to the Women of Hope for your continued fight.

The exhibition is on for one more week at Objectspace. Please go see it.

25/05/2025

Happy Africa Day!

There’d be no Africa Month without Africa Day, now a vibrant celebration that draws in wider communities, younger generations, and new allies.

So as we celebrate Africa Day, we’re also celebrating how far we’ve come in such a short amount of time, from one powerful day to a month of joy, reflection, and pride.

✨🤎

19/05/2025

On Sunday we gathered for an intimate Artists Talk as part of the Pir Routes Exhibitin. A huge thank you to our exhibiting artists for their thoughtfulness, creativity, generosity, and passion. You brought an inspiring richness and vulnerability to the conversation.

From ancestral dreams to braided memory, from gardens of care to visual archives of joy and resistance, each artist offered a unique window into their practice, and the stories behind their work.

To everyone who came and listened, asked questions, and held space thank you for showing up and making the time.

Our biggest takeaway was that creativity is personal, and our roots and routes shape the ways we make, express, heal, connect and play.

The final day to view Our Routes is Friday 23 May from 12pm - 6pm, at the Strand Arcade, 227 Queen St.

📸 .dhm

16/05/2025