12 Highlights for Community Waikato 2022
Community Waikato 21st Birthday celebration. Left Holly Snape and Right Bev Gatenby
By holly snape, community waikato ce
The world is still in a bit of a strange place, so I thought, rather than try to dissect that, I would be a little more positive. To wrap up the year, I would like to share with you 12 highlights for Community Waikato in 2022.
12. Online training (governance training)
With increased challenges delivering face-to-face training, we opted to invest in delivering more online training. We ran 8 governance training sessions to approximately 163 participants. We expect this will continue in 2023.
11. The development of our wellbeing strategy
We determined it was important to be proactive in caring for the wellbeing of our team. We developed a formal wellbeing strategy and encouraged everyone to develop individualised wellbeing plans. This has encouraged us as a team to connect with each other more, even in a hybrid working environment, and supported the team to prioritise their own mental health and wellbeing.
10. 21st Birthday party
Community Waikato celebrated our 21st Birthday Party in September. It was a fun evening with great food, a 21st birthday cake, 145 of our close friends and a fantastic speech by (inaugural CW CEO) Bev Gatenby about the changes over the last 21 years.
9. Painting with the team.
As a part of our wellbeing strategy, a couple of the team organised a painting session – where we were given pointers on how to create a work of art. Some were better than others (this is not an area that I excel!) but it was a lot of fun and a great team building exercise.
8. Visit to local Land War sites
Our team also visited land war sites around Waipa. This was a poignant occasion and prompted some important conversations about the history of our region and the ongoing impact on people in our community.
7. Transport Symposium
We partnered with the Waikato Regional Council to host the second regional Community Transport Symposium. Over 70 people attended, ranging from providers of community transport, elected officials, policy makers and funders.
6. Progress on banking advocacy
Many of our community groups have struggled with issues when trying to access the banking system. We have been working with Community Networks Aotearoa and other community organisations nationally to highlight the problem. Our working group has now secured funding for an in-depth piece of research that will support our advocacy in this space
5. Tick for Governance
We had a key role in working with Community Networks Aotearoa who developed the Tick for Governance online training programme. This programme comes with a micro-credential so those who complete the course are credited for the work. The Tick for Governance was launched in 2022 and I have completed the 10 modules and received my micro-credential.
4. Collaboration with Interactionz
Working with others is the key to growing our opportunity for impact. This year we have collaborated with Interactionz. We facilitated sessions (strategic planning, governance etc) with community organisations and Interactionz have captured the conversations and outcomes in unique graphic depictions. We hope to continue this collaboration into the future.
3. Influencing systems
Being on the inside of a system can be a powerful way to influence that system. In 2022 two Community Waikato members (one governance and one team member) were elected to councils in the region.
2. Hei Ahuru Mowai Collaboration
We continue to provide umbrella support to Hei Ahuru Mowai. The work they do is vastly impactful, advocating for outcomes for Maaori, particularly in the health sector. This year, Hei Ahuru Mowai thanked the team at Community Waikato with a stunning and humbling taonga.
1. Conference
Our top highlight of the year has to be the Embrace the Challenge conference. We had 238 delegates over two days of networking, keynote speakers and workshops. While there was a lot of planning and pressure leading up to the conference, the opportunity to be together as a sector, and take some time out to connect and rejuvenate was totally worth it!
It has been a busy year characterised by robust relationships, enduring collaborations and community capacity building events. I hope you all have an opportunity to rest at least at some stage over the summer. We look forward to 2023!