Race Unity? Do it yourself! [video]

High school student Kimberly D’Mello has challenged Kiwis to use their DIY skills to promote racial unity – and won a prestigious title in the process.

Kimberly, a Year 12 student at Aquinas College, Tauranga, won the 2015 Race Unity Speech Awards with an impassioned, energetic and entertaining address using elements of a well-know advert: DIY – it’s in our DNA.

See her speech here or click here to see it on Youtube.

The Race Unity Speech Award was initiated by the NZ Baha’i Community. The principal sponsor is New Zealand Police, with additional support and sponsorship from the Human Rights Commission, Office of Ethnic Communities, UNESCO and the New Zealand Federation of Multicultural Councils.

Judges at the final at Mahurehure Marae, West Auckland, included Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy, AUT Professor of Diversity Edwina Pio, Office of Ethnic Affairs chief executive Berlinda China, Barbara Morgan from the Speech Communications Association and Inspector Rakesh Naidoo, Police’s National Strategic Ethnic Advisor.

For more information on the competition, visit the Race Unity Speech Awards website.