Photo: Janneth Gil
Asha Abdi Photo: Supplied
Narrator / Production Assistant: Asha Abdi
Asha Abdi is from a refugee background and has earned a Certificate of Communications Media at the University of Canterbury which covered storytelling in print, video, and radio. She is currently a second-year student at the NZ Broadcasting School at ARA Institute of Canterbury. Her connections within the Canterbury Muslim community and the Somali community are wide and strong.
Asha is the narrator of the series and assisted with editing, provided cultural and linguistic advice, and helped identify and support the widows of the project.
She will continue to make fresh and important contributions to the Muslim voice in New Zealand, building on the many skills she has developed through this project.
Lana Hart Photo: Supplied
Lead Producer / Project Manager: Lana Hart
Lana Hart is a freelance journalist who has also worked for many years in the Christchurch refugee-and-migrant sector. She is a Stuff columnist, regular in-depth feature contributor for the NZ Herald, and supports international students in broadcasting on Plains FM. As a community broadcaster, Lana won the 2017 NZ Radio Award for the Best Information Programme (English) in the Community Access Radio category for her podcast on the Philippines export-labour market in Canterbury.
Lana is producer and host of radio-and-podcast series After March 15, which ran for four months following the mosque shootings. The programme featured interviews with members of the Muslim community affected by the tragedy, service providers and officials addressing local needs, and experts on issues such as racism, Islamic beliefs, and hate speech. It was broadcast on other community-access stations across New Zealand and Australia, with several episodes broadcast on RNZ Nights.
"Helping tell the stories of the Muslim community at such an important time in New Zealand's history is part of addressing the harder issues of Islamophobia, gun violence, and racism in our country. If we can connect listeners t the people most affected by the violence of March 15th—opening up their insights, their faith, and their sorrows—we will ensure that the legacy of that day is one of understanding, not hatred."
Nicki Reece Photo: Supplied
Executive Producer: Nicki Reece
Nicki Reece is the station manager at community-access media entity Plains FM in Christchurch. She is an NZ Radio Award winner and, since 2011, has been part of the inter-agency forum CLING (Community Languages Information Network Group), which produced the Best Practice Guidelines for CALD communities in times of disaster. She co-authored Against the Odds – Community Access Radio Broadcasting during the Canterbury Earthquakes – some reflections on Plains FM along with Dr. Brian Pauling for the Media Studies Journal of Aotearoa New Zealand.
In supporting this project, Nicki saw a huge opportunity to broaden the conversations around the aftermath of this tragedy, to give local Muslim women a chance to come to the fore through a documentary process that was respectful, supportive, transformative, and constructive. It is the first time a community-access media entity in New Zealand has had the opportunity to participate in such a challenging and satisfying project made possible by the RNZ/NZ On Air Innovation Fund.
Jumayah Jones Photo: Supplied
Religious and Cultural Advisor: Jumayah Jones
Born in Singapore, Jumayah migrated to New Zealand in 1983. She trained a primary-school teacher in New Zealand and helped found Nawawi Centre, a Muslim youth organisation, in 2010. Passionate about education and empowering women and children in her community, she took on the role of volunteer women's coordinator for the Muslim Association of Canterbury, which runs Al Noor Mosque, two years before the attacks.
Jumayah has been integral in bridging relationships between the Muslim and non-Muslim communities since the mosque attacks. She brings considerable mana and expertise to the project, ensuring the widows' privacy and that religious and cultural sensitivities are understood and respected.
Jumayah's involvement was behind the scenes originally, but her ability to clearly and succinctly express aspects of the Islamic faith meant her role developed into one in front of the mic too as an important voice in the series.
Asma Azhar Photo: Supplied
Researcher / Production Assistant: Asma Azhar
Asma is Diversity and Engagement Advisor at the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) in Christchurch and a PhD student at the University of Canterbury, studying language, literature, and mass communication. She was a Plains FM content-maker for STeudaemonia – International Students Living Well for two years and has enjoyed the opportunity as a presenter to share her thoughts and experiences for the benefit of newcoming students.
She actively supported many members of the Muslim community, including widows, following the mosque shootings. Originally from Pakistan, and as a Muslim mother of three, Asma has insights into Muslim life and Islamic practice. She speaks Urdu, Punjabi, English, and Arabic, and is interested in pursuing a career in policy analysis and planning.
Janneth Gil Photo: Supplied
Social Documentary Photographer: Janneth Gil
Janneth Gil is a Columbian-born New Zealander and multiple-award-winning photographer studying a Master of Fine Arts, majoring in photography, at the University of Canterbury. Janneth uses collaborative practices and community engagement as a tool for social change. She focuses her work on making an impact on problems that arise from discrimination and excesses of individualism to encourage dialogue, tolerance, inclusivity, and a socially conscious society.
She has undertaken numerous social documentary photography projects covering sensitive topics and social issues, including themes of identity and belonging. Some of her documentary work is part of the Canterbury Museum permanent collection and the Christchurch City Libraries Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi publications. Her work has also been displayed at the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna a Waiwhetū, the In Situ Photo Project, PhotoForum NZ, Place in Time, and various galleries around New Zealand. Her collaborative work with journalists has been published in the New Zealand Herald, Stuff, and RNZ.
Telling the visual story of a person who prefers their face not to be photographed is very difficult but is possible by revealing other subtle aspects of their lives that add to the narrative and connect the viewer emotionally.
Production House: Plains FM
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Plains FM Photo: Plains FM
Plains FM, as the trading arm of The Canterbury Communications Trust, has been providing the facilities and training for individuals, community groups, and agencies to create content since 1988. As an independent community-access media entity based in Christchurch, and partially funded by NZ On Air, Plains FM delivers broadcast and online content in 18 languages across 100 individual programmes every month.
A core team of three full-time and two part-time staff ensures a broad variety of voices actively participate and deliver local information, ideas, commentary, discussion, and entertainment to a high standard. Regulary winning NZ Radio Awards since an access category was introduced in 1993, Plains FM is a community hub which encourages independent thought, alternative views, humanitarian journalism, and social cohesion.
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Photo: RNZ/NZ On Air
