New Zealand awareness days and key dates

Monday 1 March 2049

• Brain Injury Awareness Month (New Zealand)

  Awareness1 to 31 March 2049

  Brain Injury Awareness Month is held every March in New Zealand, with Brain Injury New Zealand and regional associations running events and raising awareness.

• Endometriosis Action Month

  Awareness1 to 31 March 2049

  A UK campaign every March that calls for faster diagnosis and better care for people with endometriosis.

• Kidney Awareness Month (New Zealand)

  Awareness1 to 31 March 2049

  Kidney Health New Zealand's March campaign urging people to ask their doctor for a simple kidney health test.

• Neighbours Aotearoa

  Awareness1 to 31 March 2049

  Neighbours Aotearoa is a month long campaign each March encouraging New Zealanders to get to know their neighbours through local gatherings.

• Whio Awareness Month

  Awareness1 to 31 March 2049

  Whio Awareness Month in March raises awareness of the whio, or blue duck, an endangered native duck that lives on fast flowing rivers.

Wednesday 3 March 2049

• World Wildlife Day

  Awareness

  World Wildlife Day on 3 March celebrates wild plants and animals and highlights the need to tackle wildlife crime and species loss.

Saturday 6 March 2049

• Seaweek (Kaupapa Moana)

  Awareness6 to 14 March 2049

  Seaweek is New Zealand's national week of events celebrating the sea, held over nine days in late February and early March.

Sunday 7 March 2049

• Children's Day (Te Rā o ngā Tamariki)

  Awareness

  Children's Day in New Zealand falls on the first Sunday of March and celebrates children with family friendly community events.

Monday 8 March 2049

• International Women's Day

  Awareness

  A global day on 8 March celebrating women's achievements and pushing for gender equality.

Saturday 13 March 2049

• Pasifika Festival (Auckland)

  Religious and cultural13 to 14 March 2049

  A free two day celebration of Pacific Island cultures held at Western Springs Park in Auckland, usually in March; the 2026 festival was on 14 and 15 March.

Wednesday 17 March 2049

• ASB Polyfest

  Religious and cultural17 to 20 March 2049

  Auckland's secondary schools Māori and Pacific cultural festival, where school groups perform on cultural stages over several days each March.

Friday 19 March 2049

• Little Heart Day

  Awareness

  Heart Kids NZ's annual appeal in March for children with heart conditions, held on Friday 20 March in 2026.

Sunday 21 March 2049

• International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

  Awareness

  On 21 March the UN calls for action against racism, marking the anniversary of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre in South Africa.

• Race Relations Day (New Zealand)

  Religious and cultural

  Race Relations Day is marked in New Zealand every 21 March, the same day as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Friday 26 March 2049

• Purple Day

  Awareness

  An international epilepsy awareness day on 26 March, when people wear purple and hold events to support those living with epilepsy.