New Zealand will reach 2023 earlier than any other country in the world.
Let's take a look back at last year and see some of the events that make Kiwis (Kiwi is a nickname for New Zealanders) proud and say, "I'm glad to be a Kiwi."
▶︎2022 in review: Moments that made us proud to be Kiwis
Black Ferns to win Rugby World Cup 2021
At the Rugby World Cup 2021 held last year, the New Zealand women's rugby team, the Black Ferns, won the championship by defeating England by three points. This is their second consecutive victory, following the previous tournament.
By the way, even though the tournament took place last year, the name of the tournament is "Rugby World Cup 2021" because the tournament was scheduled to be held in 2021, but was postponed to October-November 2022 due to the influence of the new coronavirus, but the name remained "2021."
There have been nine Rugby World Cups hosted by national women's teams so far, and this is the sixth time the Black Ferns have won.
Find out more about the Rugby World Cup here!
▶︎ "Rugby World Cup 2021" New Zealand's Black Ferns wins for the second consecutive year!
Commonwealth Games
In 2022, New Zealand will host not only the Rugby World Cup, but also the Commonwealth Games , in which the Commonwealth nations will participate, and New Zealand athletes have been outstanding, winning 20 gold medals.
Particularly notable were the cycling events, which won 13 medals, and the pole vaulter Iris, who won her first medal in athletics. Despite having a cracked ankle, the 21-year-old cleared 4.45m to win the bronze medal.
Iris posted on Instagram, dedicating her medal to her father, saying, "This is for my dad."
Read more about the Commonwealth Games here!
▶︎Commonwealth Games 2022 will be held. NZ will win a record 20 gold medals!
Congress achieves big goal
This year, a major event occurred in New Zealand's parliament, with the ratio of male to female seats becoming exactly half and half . In New Zealand, female political participation has been increasing year by year, and in the 2020 general election, women made up 48% of the seats, almost reaching the majority.
New Zealand was the first country in the world to grant women the right to vote in 1893. This year, 2023, marks the 130th anniversary of that.
Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand and Leader of the ruling Labour Party, said on achieving gender parity in Parliament:
"This is very important and encouraging. We in the Labour Party have been particularly keen to achieve gender parity in our parliamentary representation. I would like to welcome Councillor Soraya (who in October became the 50% majority of MPs in the parliament).
He commented,
Matariki is a national holiday
In 2022, New Zealand will have a new public holiday , Matariki .
The Maori people, the indigenous people of New Zealand, celebrate the New Year when the Pleiades star cluster, known as Matariki, begins to shine, and this has now been designated a national holiday.
In recent years, New Zealand has been actively promoting the preservation and passing on of the Maori language and culture as a part of the country's identity, and the creation of this holiday is one such initiative. This is the first time that a holiday of Maori origin has been established.
For more information about Matariki, check out this article!
▶︎ A new holiday is born in NZ! What is the Maori New Year "Matariki"?
Academy Award for Best Director
On the cultural front, New Zealand film director Dame Jane Campion became the first woman to be nominated for the Best Director award for the second time, and won the 2022 Academy Award for Best Director, becoming just the second woman in history to achieve this feat.
Upon receiving the award, Prime Minister Ardern said:
"We are so grateful to have such incredible talent and skill putting our beautiful New Zealand back on the world stage. It's a great result and the whole country is so proud."
He sent a congratulatory comment.
For more information about Director Campion, please see this article!
