Supporting thriving Ethnic Communities
In March, Community Waikato launched the inaugural Ethnic Development Programme with the support of the Ethnic Communities Development Fund through the Office of Ethnic Affairs.
The programme commenced with a Whakatau which set the tone for the year-long programme and created an opportunity for people to connect with one-another and some of the key contributors who made this opportunity possible.
The purpose of this programme is to create a leadership learning and development situation that will grow the capacity, capability, and effectiveness of ethnic support organisations.
The Waikato region is home to many new migrants from around the world. According to Statistics NZ (2018) this rich ethno-cultural diversity makes up around 20% (including 11% Pacific Peoples) of the total population. It can be challenging for new migrants to navigate unfamiliar socio-cultural, legal, economic, and political environments. Fortunately, the emergence of ethnic support organisations within the community sector has provided significant support to these new community members as they work to create meaningful, safe, and successful lives for themselves in Aotearoa.
As with the majority of grassroots community organisations, these ethnic support organisations also need guidance and assistance to build strong sustainable structures and practices. In particular the leaders of these organisations need to grow their understanding of not only how community organisations are run in Aotearoa but also the opportunities that the community sector offers to support the work they do.
The Ethnic Development Programme has been specifically tailored for the unique circumstances of ethnic support organisations. In particular their commonly shared objectives to practice, retain and celebrate their culture.
The focus and delivery of content has been approached from a co-design perspective to ensure that ethnic courtesies and learning needs are met, and that Community Waikato team members grow and further develop their ability to work with diverse communities in ways that are respectful and effective. An overarching intention of this programme is to ensure that each group is able to express their aspirations and create systems and structures that support their activities while maintaining their unique identities and ways of working.
It has been our observation that it is not always easy for ethnic support organisations to connect with government or other organisations and groups to get the assistance or information they need. For this reason it has been important to design this development programme in a way that tries to address some of the main barriers to participation.
In particular, Community Waikato has been able to ensure each group has access to the technology and some digital tools that will enable participants to engage with key stakeholders including funders. A commitment to provide monthly two-hour sessions, with a daytime or evening option, is believed to deliver the best opportunity for people to participate regardless of their personal circumstances and other obligations.
Because the Ethnic Development Programme is the first programme of its kind offered by Community Waikato, we have engaged an independent researcher to evaluate the success of the programme and to measure the progress made in relation to the desired outcomes that participants identified for themselves at the beginning.
Karen Stockmann and Anne Douglas
Community Advisors