The annual congress of the New Zealand Esperanto Association (NZEA) took place in Christchurch on 3-5 February 2007. The congress was attended by about 20 Esperantists, including visitors from Japan, Luxembourg and France. The congress was an opportunity to manage the official affairs of NZEA and allowed those attending to use Esperanto and, thereby, to improve their understanding and knowledge.
Official matters included a discussion on the financial affairs of NZEA, activities in the Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch clubs, and the election of a new executive. David Ryan from Wellington was elected the new President of NZEA and led a discussion on the strategy of NZEA. This resulted in the development of a new draft vision and mission statement for NZEA with information/education as the key focus for the period ahead. Various ideas were discussed on how to inform and educate New Zealanders about Esperanto.
Other items during the congress included a social evening with a sketch and amusing stories in Esperanto, a session on common grammatical questions, and a presentation on his country by the visiting Esperantist from Luxembourg. The ‘Summer School’ held in Hobart in January 2007, which was attended by two Esperantists from New Zealand, was also discussed.
The 2008 congress of NZEA will take place in Auckland in mid-January. It was decided that this would be a unique opportunity to hold a wider ‘Oceania Congress’ which could be attended not only by New Zealanders but also by others from Australia, the Pacific Islands, and further afield. The NZEA executive will consider inviting a guest speaker or teacher, to use the opportunity to reach out to non-Esperantists who may wish to come along to learn Esperanto from an experienced teacher.