o Support others to replenish resilience. Yes a lot of us do get lost in the education system but at the end of the day our culture is what holds us. Because society can throw us to the side because of your colour, the way you speak, you're still not pronouncing it right. But our culture and our families are what hold us. (Tongan focus group) • Form genuine relationships with others: Participants encouraged others to: o Seek to understand and learn about other cultures from and with people from different ethnic groups o Learn to embrace differences and find common ground o Celebrate diverse cultures I'm used to worse in South Africa though. So just remarks and gestures don't really phase me too much. In South Africa you can get into fights and stuff. I used to get picked on quite a lot. I generally find that once I talk to the person that's being racist, they quickly realise, they go "hey, this guy is alright". (African focus group) I think things like Polyfest and multicultural festivals again they’re attended by people that want to learn and have some immersion but also there’s the people who turn up and say I’m not racist. I go to Polyfest every year. Empathy is really coming to mind, listening to someone else’s story and hearing someone and about their experience (Pākehā 2 focus group) 8.5. Support communities to identify their own solutions Many participants identified a need to invest in and support community ownership and action in response to racism. The important influence, role and reach of community leaders, networks and forums, and ethnic minority group achievements and success were examples of the potential that existed within communities to identify their own solutions. In my group [of friends], we have active conversations about racism, how we experience it and what can we do to empower our community to look at addressing those issues. (Tuvaluan focus group) Our community leaders who are very willing and also have the experience and some resources in place to offer help. How we can better equip and support them to be the leaders or the support people for those experiencing racial discrimination. (Filipino focus group) Participants also emphasised the need to prioritise regional differences and community action initiatives led by and for those communities. We're such a small community down here [in small region town] that we need our own Pacific groups to come together but also come together as one Pacific peoples. (PanPacific focus group) www.malatest-intl.com Drivers of racism – March 2021 84