Nǐ hǎo,

With the next announcement about lockdown status, we are grateful that things continue to become safer in New Zealand. But, for the time being, our work with IACT will continue online for a little while longer. We will make our decision about going back on the road as soon as the risk to others is as low as it can be.

To date, we have held dozens of conversations using Zoom, reaching people in about 25 locations around New Zealand. A big thank you to all who gave us a couple hours of their day to participate in a conversation. The conversations have been fascinating, insightful and we treasure the stories you have shared with us.

We still want to hear from you

If you have participated in a conversation, we would really appreciate if you could encourage your networks to join one. If you are on our mailing list, but haven’t participated in a conversation, please consider doing so. We want to hear from all of you. Every one of your voices is important in this work.

We are using Zoom to host our online events. It’s an easy tool to use and allows us to talk with you via video call. We can host group events or one-to-one. Just let us know which you prefer. If you haven’t used Zoom before, it’s easy to use and can be downloaded here.

There are upcoming conversations that anyone can join by visiting our events page. There are upcoming events that anyone can join. These events will be published on our Facebook page.

If you’re not on Facebook, just email Talie.

Our online survey is live!

Prefer to answer our key questions about belonging via an survey? We’ve set up an online survey that asks the same three questions around belonging – and allows you to submit answers at any time from home. Survey responses are completely anonymous. You can respond by typing or by voice recording. We’d really love your help in completing our survey and sharing it with others.

Road trip planning has restarted

With the removal of some restrictions and Level 2 is coming up in a couple of days, we have reignited our road trip planning. Over the next two weeks, while everyone is shifting back into public spaces, we will be laying down plans to start the road trip, beginning with visits around the North Island by the end of May/beginning of June.

Please contact Talie if you can help assemble a group of up to 8 individuals who would be willing to participate in a conversation.

Thank you to our campaign promoters

A big thanks to ActionStation and Volunteering NZ for their help in running campaigns to bring in more conversation participants. We appreciate the time you put in to give us greater visibility across New Zealand.

A shout out to…

Multicultural Whangarei for supporting our conversations by including our details in their newsletter and website, and to Eastern Bay Villages for getting the word out through their mailout – thank you!

A Lockdown Positive Impact Story

Image credit: Belong Aotearoa
The refugee and migrant families involved across Auckland’s Belong Aotearoa “Safari Playgroups” are some of the most isolated, with a lack of resources to access support services. So in the early stage of lockdown, the Safari team moved playgroups online, and worked on building the capacity of their families to engage.

Taking into account the varying levels of IT access, limitations around play resources, and the need for processes to build capabilities to engage online, Belong Aotearoa’s Safari team developed and delivered Safari play kits, essential supplies, and internet data (particularly for those with only a phone to access the internet) and then moved families from online messaging apps to more interactive online platforms.

This has helped families adapt to new technology, stay connected and improve their families’ wellbeing. The Safari team have been able to translate that face-to-face unique support successfully online despite the barriers of language and technology, and have been working with 137 enrolled families over the lockdown period.

Ka Pai to the team – this is a wonderful example of innovation and compassion to build a socially inclusive space during the weeks of lockdown.