Cultural Diversity in New Zealand

Multiculturalism is a principal issue, which has been discussed broadly on both scientific and public level all over the world (Neumannova, 2007). As a result of globalization, people are coming closer and interacting directly to others in different cultures. Most of them always try to adapt to the new environment and balance the relationships with others people from different races. The concept of cultural diversity has been formed throughout the long history with numerous international immigrants coming from different parts of the world and the typical countries for multicultural nations can be the United States, Canada, Australia and even New Zealand. This issue brings both advantages as well as disadvantages for the citizens who live in these countries and it also leads to a large amount of problems for the governments. In one hand, people live in the environment with various cultures could not only benefit from learning other countries’ customs but also look back to their own culture with new views and respect. On the other hand, multiculturalism can be seen as the root of possible national ethnic conflicts and discords. This essay is going to focus on explaining the notion of cultural diversity, which seems still vague to many people. Hence, it is essential to address the challenges associated with increasing cultural diversity for both individuals and the society, especially in New Zealand.
Cultural diversity is not a brand new phenomenon as its existence has been recognized for a long time in the United States but this spreads fast and widely and now it is becoming a worldwide issue. People who live within a specific cultural system usually are not aware of their cultural differences or do not perceive them as a problem (Neumannova, as cited in Varmeulen and Slijper, 2007) but when they immigrate to strange countries and start a new life, culture plays a very important part and it is really meaningful to them. There are many definitions are made to define