Ki te whaiao, ki te ao Mārama Executive Summary Introduction Racism is entrenched in the fabric of society in Aotearoa New Zealand. The history of racism in this country is rooted in the Doctrine of Discovery, which underpinned European colonisation around the globe from the fifteenth century. It led to the exploration and colonisation of Aotearoa by the British Crown. Today, colonisation continues to underpin the interpersonal and systemic racism that impacts Tangata Whenua and ethnic Tangata Tiriti. To guide this work, the Commission established a National Anti-Racism Taskforce (2021-2022) (the Taskforce) of experts on racism with both a Tangata Whenua Caucus and Tangata Tiriti Caucus. The Taskforce provided guidance throughout the process. This report, Ki te whaiao, ki te ao Mārama, presents the themes and ideas arising from the community engagements along with the Commission’s own recommendations to the Ministry on the development of the Plan. In 2017, the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) recommended that the New Zealand Government create a National Action Plan Against Racism (the Plan), with the Race Relations Commissioner playing a leadership role in community engagement. In light of CERD’s recommendations, and the terrorist attacks at Christchurch masjidain in 2019, the Government committed to developing the Plan. We recommend this report be read with the accompanying Maranga Mai! report and its recommendations. Ahi Kaa, the indigenous rights group within the Commission, and the Taskforce's Tangata Whenua Caucus worked together to develop Maranga Mai! which provides research, narrative and analysis of the dynamics of white supremacy, racism and colonisation experienced by Tangata Whenua. The Ministry of Justice (the Ministry) is leading the development of the Plan on behalf of the Government over 2022-23. To help inform initial development of the Plan, Te Kāhui Tika Tangata, the Human Rights Commission (the Commission) conducted preliminary community engagements to capture experiences of racism and to identify priority actions for eliminating racial discrimination. These two reports are the Commission’s gift to the Government and to Aotearoa to assist in the important task of eliminating racism. Read together Maranga Mai! and Ki te whaiao, ki te ao Mārama create our call to action – Rise Up! Emerge from darkness, into the natural world of life and light. Summary of key themes from our engagement This report is set out under five pou identified in July 2021 by the Tangata Whenua Caucus of the Taskforce. Alongside each pou are corresponding Tangata Tiriti pillars, representing the core themes expressed by Tangata Tiriti. This structure represents a Tiriti o Waitangi-based Te Kāhui Tika Tangata approach which the Commission has applied to this kaupapa. The following two tables summarise the key themes we heard from the communities we engaged with on each pou and pillar. Fuller discussion of each follows in the body of this report. 10