Ricardo Menéndez March is a dedicated activist and Member of Parliament for the Green Party. His own experiences working low-wage jobs as a migrant shaped his deep understanding of the barriers in Aotearoa’s employment sector. His advocacy centres on policy and regulation, pushing for fairer systems that protect the rights of migrants and former refugees. Ricardo champions a future where every worker, no matter where they come from, is treated with dignity and respect.
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Pass The Mic Episode 15: Kat Eghdamian
Dr Kat Eghdamian is an Iranian-Kurdish New Zealander and former child refugee. She has six degrees and works as Lead Advisor for the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner. Kat shares stories about her country of birth, her journey to Aotearoa, and her work on migrant exploitation and modern slavery. She and Elina discuss how to go about changing hearts and minds, and the importance of guilty pleasures!
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Pass The Mic Episode 14: Nina Santos
Nina identifies as a first-generation migrant from the Philippines and is a passionate advocate for ethnic communities, migrant rights and gender equality. Nina has been recognised by the Asian New Zealand Foundation and YWCA as a young person to watch, and in this episode, Nina shares her work with the “Mind The Gap'' campaign and ethnic pay gap reporting.
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Pass The Mic Episode 13: Ajaz Patel
A New Zealand Cricketer, Ajaz Patel made his international debut for the Black Caps in October 2018. In this episode, he and Elina talk about his culture and identity, faith, having a sense of belonging, and the secret role of food in creating inclusive sport environments.
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Pass The Mic Episode 12: Marie Ysabel Landingin
Marie was born in Manila, raised in Auckland and currently works on major infrastructure projects at Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. She is a 'third culture kid' dreaming of inclusive cities and is a part of the Multi-Ethnic Young Leaders Network and Authenticity Aotearoa. Marie explains urban planning and her passion for putting an ethnic lens on it, and she and Elina discuss identity and her feelings of not doing enough when it comes to activism and migrant relationships with tāngata whenua.
Sharing the stories and experiences of fifteen New Zealanders from migrant and former refugee backgrounds, this series is a community-led collaboration in partnership with Belong Aotearoa, Sport Waitākere and Storyo, hosted by Elina Ashimbayeva. Elina is the co-creator of Storyo, and moved to New Zealand from Kazakhstan in 2011.
👉 FOLLOW @passthemic.aotearoa and @story.co /
Visit storyo.co.nz for a transcript of the episodes!
New Zealand