EarthDiverse > About

EarthDiverse Mission:

…exploring, discerning and engaging the deep diversities of planet earth…

EarthDiverse is just getting started. We’re a new organisation that incorporates a more comprehensive view of all that Planet 3 has to offer: one that combines all the depth and breadth of human diversity—our social, cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious diversities—with the vast but threatened splendor of the environmental and biological diversity of our world.

At the moment, our new non-profit, charitable organisation is just beginning to take shape, but at its heart is the notion of active engagement with diversity and the principle that learning should be fun and enjoyable in addition to being informative, and the approach that knowledge should be experienced and shared rather than simply known or understood.

In the coming months and year(s), EarthDiverse will continue to offer courses, workshops and seminars; our core religious diversity classes will continue to be offered, and we continue to introduce new courses that encompass both our cultural and environmental diversities. We’ll also move towards developing educational resources, integrative programmes with hands-on learning opportunities and experiential components, teacher training, youth programmes, and research and publication projects all designed to better inform us of, and engage with, the multiple diversities of which we are an integral part.

Our Vision:

  • to unite the disparate concepts of diversity education and training into a single organisation that unifies the teaching of cultural and natural diversities;
  • to work toward:
    • mitigating racism, discrimination and environmental degradation,
    • and strengthening social cohesion in Aotearoa New Zealand society,
  • through the offering of such programmes mentioned below.

Our Purpose:

  • to provide diversity education and training to the general public on the wide variety of issues pertaining to cultural and religious diversity, including, but not limited to, world religions, beliefs and traditions, as well as ethnic diversity and interculturalism;
  • to provide language training on a wide variety of under-taught languages spoken in Aotearoa New Zealand, in order to both increase mainstream society’s awareness and understanding of minority languages, and to better promote heritage language acquisition amongst children of migrants who are often at risk of losing their heritage due to assimilation;
  • to provide adult and community education on a wide variety of social science and humanities subjects which are under-taught in Aotearoa, including Māori & New Zealand history, world philosophy, global art and architecture, ethnomusicology, and world literature;
  • to promote greater understanding of the natural history and biodiversity of Aotearoa New Zealand through traditional adult education, and experiential programmes, excursions and activities designed to increase engagement with our natural environment;
  • to provide courses that are easily accessible and affordable for all;
  • to offer professional development training and education on diversity related topics through providing seminars and workshops that target the Education, Health, Media and Government sectors, as well as Clergy and those involved in the pastoral care of others;
  • to publish relevant research in the field of diversity education;
  • to provide educational resources for the teaching of diversity.

What we offer:

  • Affordable and accessible adult and community education programmes
  • Hybrid in-person and on-line distance learning classes
  • Public programmes, seminars, workshops and events
  • Professional Development Training via seminars and workshops
  • Environment & natural history programmes, excursions and events
  • Research and publications
  • Education resources (coming soon!)

Professional Development:

EarthDiverse currently offers a series of Professional Development workshops and seminars on:

  • Religious Diversity and raising awareness of religious literacy. These programmes are designed for organisations and businesses to better inform potential clients of issues of religious literacy and raising awareness of the beliefs and practices of other faith and belief traditions. Our interactive seminars and workshops are designed to get your staff and employees cognisant of and involved with people of other faith and belief traditions, in order to better help them interact with members of other religions, as well as with those with no-religion.
  • Cultural awareness and literacy training for classroom teachers and educators.

For more information, please visit our Professional Development page.

Courses:

Languages

EarthDiverse currently offers the following language programmes, designed for introductory and intermediate learners; those who do not read, write or speak a foreign language; children of migrants who wish to learn to read, write and speak their Heritage Language; and Pākehā learners who wish to better engage with native speakers. Advanced level language classes will be introduced in future Terms as each language cohort improves and continues. Each language level offers four Term classes consisting of 8 lectures per Term.

Language Programmes (currently offered):

Coming soon:

  • Afrikaans
  • French
  • Punjabi
  • Russian

Details of each of our currently offered languages courses can be found under the Courses menu above.

Art

Art & Architecture Courses (current):

Details of each of our currently offered courses can be found under the Courses menu above.

 

Art & Architecture Courses (coming soon):

  • Researching the history of your family home, with Dr Ann McEwan

Biodiversity

BIODIVERSITY & ENVIRONMENT COURSES AND EXCURSIONS:

Currently on offer:

• ENV203: “Native Forest Restoration”

 

Coming soon:

Astronomy 101: ʻAn Introduction to the New Zealand Night Sky” (coming in 2022 Term 1)

 

In the coming year, EarthDiverse will begin to offer a series of courses and seminars on Aotearoa’s biodiversity and natural history, as well as excursions and activities designed to introduce us to the natural beauty of Aotearoa New Zealand. We currently offer:

  • Multicultural Tree Planting: an annual winter event organised by EarthDiverse with the help of the Waikato Interfaith Council, Waikato Multicultural Council, Hamilton City Council, and a wide coalition of the Waikato’s environmental organisations. This event will next take place on 19 June 2021.
  • additional seminars and excursions.
  • courses on Aotearoa’s biodiversity and natural history are coming soon. We’re just getting started!

 

Environment & Natural History Courses and Seminars  (coming soon):

  • New Zealand flora & fauna
  • New Zealand Shorebirds
  • New Zealand Entomology
  • The Stars Above Us (Practical New Zealand Astronomy)
  • Climate Change in New Zealand
  • Making your home more energy efficient

Film

WORLD CINEMA:

Currently on offer:

• FILM304: “History of Anime” (coming in 2021 Term 4); page to be posted soon!

More World Cinema courses are currently under development and are coming soon!

In the coming year, EarthDiverse will begin to offer a series of courses and seminars on World Cinema. We’re just getting started!

History

History Courses (current):

Details of each of our currently offered courses can be found under the Courses menu above.

 

History Courses (coming soon):

  • Māori History seminar series
  • Aotearoa New Zealand History

Literature

World Literature:

Details of each of our currently offered courses can be found under the Courses menu above.

 

Coming soon:

  • Digital Storytelling
  • LIT102: “Grand Narratives & Mythologies in the Eastern Traditions”
  • LITXXX: Arabic Feminist Literature

Religious Diversity

EarthDiverse offers a wide variety of courses and classes designed to increase our literacy of other religious and belief traditions, which currently includes three distinct series of courses, each with four independent Term classes consisting of 8 lectures per Term. New courses are also currently in development to be offered soon. For more info, please see our Religious Diversity course page.

Discovering Religious Diversity series:

Contemporary Issues in Religion series:

World Religions series:

Religion and Film series:

  • RD401: Religion and Film I (coming soon!)
  • RD402: Religion and Film II (coming soon!)

 

Details of each of our currently offered courses can be found under the Courses menu above.