“Do not adjust your sets, there’s nothing wrong with the picture,” said Waleed Aly as he stood on the stage to accept his Gold Logie.
Aly, a Muslim, has defied the haters and won the logie for Best Personality on Australian TV for his part in The Project, sending the internet into a frenzy.
Many are celebrating it as a win for diversity and social acceptance, while others, including Aly himself say Australia still has a long way to go.
Issues surrounding cultural awareness and inclusively are nothing new in the media industry and will only grow as societies around the world become increasingly multicultural.
In a recent presentation by TVNZ about ‘superdiversity’ in New Zealand, Nigel Latta spoke about the opportunity for advertising agencies to advertise in a more modern way that reflects what New Zealand looks like to make it relevant and real to its customers.
To do this, agencies need to improve cultural capabilities and this, Latta said, comes from the core of the agencies teams. The teams need to be diverse.
If the same was to be said about the media, this award win by Aly appears to be a step in the right direction.
Closer to home, New Zealand has recently experienced a step in the wrong direction when it comes to diversity in the local councils.
New Plymouth mayor Andrew Judd came under scrutiny after showing support for a Maori ward. Judd has taken so much abuse, he has announced he will not be standing in the next election.
His efforts to speak up however, did not go unnoticed, with Miriama Kamo sharing her powerful reaction to his departure on Marae.
