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About

Ants

Aotearoa New Zealand Federation of Tamil Sangam Inc (ANTS) is a national level federation comprising of Tamil Societies or Tamil Sangams from all over New Zealand. ANTS was founded in February 2020 in Wellington, primarily by the initiative of the following founding members;

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  1. Mr Raveen Annamalai (Founder); Former Vice President of the New Zealand Federation of Multicultural Councils and member of the  Wellington  Muthamizh Sangam. He was also one of the founding members of the Wellington Muthamizh Sangam.

  2. Mr Vai Ravindran (Co-Founder); President of Auckland Tamil Association

  3. Dr. Samuel Jebaraj Benjamin (BSc (Hons), MBA, PhD, CPA), (Co-Founder); Treasurer of Aotearoa New Zealand Federation of Tamil Sangam Inc ANTS (2020-2021); Treasurer of Tamil Society of Waikato (2019-2020); Treasurer of Dunedin Tamil Society (2018-2019);

  4. Dr. Luxmanan Selvanesan (Co-Founder); President of Dunedin Multi-Ethnic Council

  5. Senthil Kumar Sapabathy (Co-Founder); President of Tamil Society Waikato (2019/2020)

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The idea of a federation was conceptualized and established after having understood the need for building and strengthening the solidarity and connectivity of Tamils in New Zealand.

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Tamil is one of the oldest languages in the world, with literature dating back 100BC, spoken by more than: 60 million people in Tamil Nadu, a state located in the southern region of India; 2 million people in Malaysia, 500,000 people in Singapore, 300,000 people in United Kingdom, 250,000 people in Canada and 200,000 people in the United States of America. The Tamil population in New Zealand has been increasing steadily as a result of the increasing number of new migrant arrivals and this trend is expected to continue into the near future.

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ANTS is committed to promoting the get-together and connectedness of Tamil Sangams/Societies in New Zealand and of individuals of Tamil origin or Tamil speaking living in New Zealand. Among others, the Federation will also cultivate, promote, foster, and develop the advancement of knowledge in Tamil language, literature and culture and to participate actively in the development of a culturally pluralistic and socially cohesive society in New Zealand.

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ANTS is registered as a society under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908 of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment New Zealand in the year 2020. ANTS is governed by the Executive Committee.

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