Inclusive Aotearoa Collective Tāhono | Update #07

Kia ora koutou, Greetings, and As-Salaam-Alaikum,

Since our last update we’ve had two very productive meetings: a Zoom meeting on 20 August to gather input on the mission, vision and values of the Inclusive Aotearoa Collective, and then a smaller group of volunteers got together in early September to discuss this input and further the discussion. We have brought on board two new team members as of mid-September, and both are very excited to be part of this project.

As always, we are humbled by and grateful for the support and generous input we have received as we continue to build our kaupapa.

Meet our new team members:

Nona Morris, Project Associate
Nona comes from a multicultural background and a childhood of living abroad that gave her an insight into different world views and the importance of cross-cultural communication. Since then she has followed varied academic trajectories, including sciences, anthropology, and education. She has taught and mentored in a range of subjects across all sectors, and using a range of pedagogies, including experiential-based learning, student-driven curriculums, and formal classroom lecturing. As a service-minded advocate for grassroots and local groups, Nona brings her volunteer experiences from a variety of community-based organisations. Most recently, Nona has been working in the early childhood education, and finds enormous value in the holistic and inclusive NZ ECE curriculum document as being highly applicable to settings beyond the education sector.

Sandra James, Senior Advisor
Sandra grew up in rural Canterbury, where early experiences taught her that small communities are capable of great things and that all transformative ideas have humble beginnings. Sandra has worked in local government and in project management at national levels, championing community-led approaches in all of her work. After the 2010 Christchurch earthquakes, Sandra was appointed Social Recovery Manager for Waimakariri district and, in 2015, led the Red Cross Recovery Team using a collaborative approach to develop a community-focused recovery plan. Most recently, Sandra is based in Christchurch consulting nationally as a facilitator and connector with Connecting People.

Our current thinking:

A good summary of the purpose and approach of the Inclusive Aotearoa Collective can be seen on our website: www.inclusiveaotearoa.nz

Our next step is to develop a Diversity, Inclusion, and Representation strategy – and a starting point for that strategy is clarity about our mission and our guiding principles.

We have created a survey, the responses from which will be used to inform the mission and guiding principles; once these are established, we will be in a position to develop the strategy: where and how we will operate, what we will do, how we will work with others.

For now, we would be grateful for your input on the mission and guiding principles. The survey is not long, and we appreciate the time you’ve taken to fill it out. You can respond to the survey by using the following link: [note: survey is now closed].

Next step:

Our communications team will meet on 10 October to consider the feedback we receive and use that, along with the constellation model, to begin mapping our strategy. Click on the link for more information about the constellation model.

Updates:

Anjum attended a two-day workshop that examined research-based solutions to online hate and offline consequences. As well as hearing from a range of experts and members of the media, Anjum presented a keynote speech, The Christchurch Call engagement, future legislation and community actions around hate speech. In addition, she contributed to a panel on the rise of Islamophobia and the rise of white nationalism.

Nona, Sandra and Anjum have been having virtual meetings regularly since mid-September to develop the survey included in this newsletter, discuss the big picture ideas, research conceptual ideas pertinent to the strategy, and to take care of the logistics of setting ourselves up to function as a team.

We have set up our social media accounts if you would like to follow them:

Twitter: @includeaoteaoroa
Facebook: faceboook.com/inclusiveaotearoacollective

Once again thank you for your interest in and participation in the Inclusive Aotearoa Collective. Please stay in touch, and we welcome your thoughts and ideas.

Ngā mihi nui,
Anjum Rahman, Nona Morris, and Sandra James
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