One in five people living in Tasman were born overseas and the region has more than 100 ethnicities with newcomers arriving all the time, so Welcoming Week is a way for many to connect.
The international event spreads over 10 days from 1 - 10 September to encourage people – not just newcomers - to connect with other people.
Tasman District Council’s welcoming communities’ officer Birte Becker-Steel says Welcoming Week is about improving social connectiveness, with so many people in the region coming from different origins.
The 2018 census recorded just over 20 percent of people living in Tasman were born in other countries and the region had 101 different ethnicities, with figures from the latest census yet to be released.
She says it is very important for newcomers to have community gatherings where the focus is on meeting other people, including people from their own culture.
One of the events is an international book exchange of non-English language books as she says it is important for people to have books at home written in their mother language.
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The week began with the welcoming of nearly 90 international students at Waimea College before getting the first of the 15 organised events underway. Crafts, walks, wave rave, or just connecting over a cuppa are a few of the events being held around the region.
First on the list was a Checkmate workshop in Richmond which brought out the chess enthusiasts in the community.
A second workshop was held on Thursday by Argentinian-born Ramiro Riachi who began playing chess when he was eight years old and enjoyed it so much that he has turned it into a business where he runs chess workshops and bootcamps.
Birte says a photo campaign is also planned called Nau mai rā or welcome, which will put photos together in a collage to share on social media.
