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Sector strength comes from a collaborative voice NZFVWO is an active network of social service organisations. We provide a unique opportunity to be involved in strengthening community services and increasing the influence and power of the sector. Click here to become a member		Issue 19 – June 2007 New Dialogue is published four times a year. Next issue September 2007
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Click on item for article Theme: Focus on Youth Issues 3 Youth are not evil! 3 Passionate about young people. 4 Do you know? 5 Te Kotahitanga – improving educational outcomes for Maori 5 Shades of Pacific Youth. 6 Positive transitions 7 Future Focus: Making funding processes ‘youth friendly’ 8 Youth focused for a just world. 8 Federation focus 9 A view from our President…. 9 From the Executive Director’s desk…. 10 Becoming members of the Federation. 11 Change of face at the Federation. 12 Members’ Forum: Keeping in touch with politicians 12 Developing strong inter-sectoral collaboration. 12 Developing communities with local government 12 Get to know your local politicians 13 Sector news 14 Support and recognition for the community sector 14 Employment relations education project 15 Working with the Ministry of Health and DHBs 17 KiwiSaver and community organisations 18 The Not-for-profit Network awards 19 Resources 20 Conferences and courses 20 Publications and papers 20 Diary. 20 Classified. 21
Theme: Focus on Youth Issues
“A country where young people are vibrant and optimistic through being supported and encouraged to take up challenges” Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa Ministry of Youth Affairs, January 2002
Youth are not evil! How your organisation can improve outcomes for them Matt Roberts & Sarah Helm, NZ Association for Adolescent Health and Development			Back to top
We were young once.  At some point of all of our lives, we all go through adolescence. Being young is a natural part of our human development. Yet support for young people through this phase is scant. Instead youth are demonised and vilified. According to the media, all young people are texting to organise violent, boy-racing, binge-drinking drug events, in which they will all contract STD’s. They’re to blame for society’s ills – drinking, drugs, sex, and disease. Yet young people have virtually no control over society –they do not run any powerful organisations or companies, they can’t vote until they’re 18, they don’t even have much of a say over their own lives. How can it all be young people’s fault? In fact there are over 700,000 young people and the vast majority are successfully negotiating the joys and challenges of adolescence. If you tell young people they are a problem, you create a problem. But if you work with their strengths, you build a stronger society. This is the premise of the Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa (YDSA). The YDSA’s vision:  “a country where young people are vibrant and optimistic through being supported and encouraged to take up challenges”. This is a vision that your organisation could be a part of. The YDSA is well known within the youth sector, but it has relevance across all NGO’s. Youth development is about young people gaining a sense of contributing something of value to society, and feeling connected to others. The aim is for young people to be positive, and comfortable with their own identity. There are four key goals to the strategy: · Strengths based approach · Quality relationships · Youth participation · An informed approach A strengths-based approach is about enhancing young people’s protective factors and building their capacity to resist risk factors. It is about shifting the way people think about young people – to a strength, rather than problem focus.  The focus is on causes of social issues related to young people rather than defining the young person as the problem. For many of you, strengths-based approaches are not new, but are they being applied to youth? Quality relationships are important to young people. When young people are the ‘other’ part of the wider community it is easy to misunderstand them. Everyone needs to feel connected. This is especially true for young people as their relationships with parents or caregivers change. Young people need relationships with other adults. The more settings where young people feel valued the better. Youth participation is about creating opportunities for young people to actively participate and engage. Meaningful youth participation ensures young people make and influence decisions, rather than being consulted while adults make the decisions. It is about growing the capacity of young people to contribute. An information approach is about an evidence-base. For example, sometimes adults who want to ‘fix’ a group of young people look to establish boot camps. There is no evidence base to support the efficacy of boot camps, so we’d look to other youth development programmes and suggest an investment in them. There are many implications for community organisation from a youth development approach. Firstly developing and acting on a strengths-based understanding of young people. This means working with young people’s strengths, not trying to rescue them from a particular deficit or problem. Secondly providing opportunities for young people to build quality relationships. Think about the opportunities to you provide for young people to interact with your organisation? Do you support youth volunteers? Or have relationships with relevant schools/youth organisations? Providing young people with a chance to participate in organisations is important. This can vary from extending to young people the right to have a say about the way they use your service, through to including young people in overall decision-making. If young people are significant users in a service, why shouldn’t they have a say over how it is run? There are plenty of good resources to help you. Try this to start with: www.youthweek.co.nz in the resources section, or go straight to http://tinyurl.com/yo6j6a. Lastly check your work matches the best evidence about the way to work with young people. By employing a youth development approach, your organisation stands to improve your outcomes for your youth users/consumers. Find out more about the YDSA: www.myd.govt.nz/YouthDevelopmentStrategyAotearoa/youthdevelopmentstrategyaotearoa.aspx
Passionate about young people Trissel Mayor, Director, Youth One Stop Shop (YOSS)			Back to top
The Youth One Stop Shop (YOSS) in Palmerston North has been providing services to young people for the past 13 years.  Its vision of being one place which provides young people with a range of services that are accessible, youth appropriate and holistic is grounded in a strong youth development approach. YOSS provides free counselling, health, alcohol and drug and youth development services (including information, support, advocacy, life skills and recreation programmes) for more than 5000 young people a year.  The service is based in the community to encourage access by a wide range of young people and their families across age (target group is 10-24 year olds), gender, ethnicity and ‘youth cultural’ population groups who may be at school, in tertiary or other education programmes, working or transient. YOSS services can assist with issues such as depression, anxiety, bullying, self esteem, violence, family issues, communication, offending, alcohol and drug use, asthma, sore throats, diabetes, contraception, pregnancy and skin problems. YOSS works with the risk factors (or the presenting issue) of young people and utilises their protective factors (what is working well for them e.g. peers, school, whanau) as resources to bring balance to their lives and enable then to learn skills for life from their experiences.  When young people are asked why they come and keep coming to YOSS their answer is simple – it’s about relationships; rapport, consistency, reliability, trust and giving them time. YOSS staff (there is a multi-disciplinary team of 12 nurses, a doctor, counsellors, social workers and youth workers) provide a first point of contact for young people and families in need of support and early intervention.  YOSS is needed because it’s a free, accessible, youth-friendly and youth-appropriate service.  YOSS is an important part of a community approach in investing in the City’s future – its young people.   The evaluation or measurement of outcomes in youth development contexts is an on-going issue of how to do it and who will fund it.  What is a successful outcome and how do we know that we make a difference, or more importantly, how do we prove that it was what we did that made a difference?  We might see a young person for just 10 minutes or one hour, or they might be part of one of our youth programmes for seven weeks, we might have an on-going relationship with them from anything from three to 13 years.  We know we’ve made a difference when out of the blue, a young person comes through the door, someone we haven’t seen for four or five years and they’ve come back to say ‘thank you for being there’.  When we get a call from a parent to say that their young person has engaged with rehabilitation; or when we get feedback from a school to say that a young person’s behaviour has changed and they seem to be comfortable and confident in who they are- that’s when we know we’ve contributed towards a positive outcome. We’re hoping for outcomes based on Blum’s^[1] five C’s – confidence, character, connection, competence and contribution.  We have just developed a computerised survey tool for clients to self-measure  outcomes based on these principles and we’re looking forward to gathering some qualitative and quantative information on this. YOSS is passionate about young people - the role that they play in our communities and we believe that young people have solutions to the difficulties that they face and to ‘youth issues’ by applying themselves, a youth development approach. The Youth One Stop Shop is supported by the Manawatu PHO, Palmerston North City Council, MidCentral District Health Board, Lottery Youth and the Department of Child Youth and Family Services.  For more information, please visit our website on www.yoss.org.nz.
	Do you know? Young people at large · The 2001 census found that there were 675,087 people aged 12 to 24 · 75% of all young people live in main urban areas, 6% in secondary urban, 7% in minor urban and 12% in rural areas. · 94% of young Pacific people live in urban areas · 14% of rangatahi Maori and 15% of young European people live in rural areas Young people and education · In 2001 17% of all school leavers left with no qualification. For rangatahi Maori, the figure was 33.4%, young Pacific people 24.8%, European 12.4% and Asians 8% · Females are more likely than males to leave school with a higher qualification · Of all school leavers in 2000, 52% enrolled in tertiary education and training in 2001 Young people and employment · At the 2001 Census, 37% of 15 to 19 year-olds were employed as service and sales workers · The next largest area of employment were clerical (14%) and elementary occupations (13%) · 34% of young people aged 15 to 24 years had a full time job and 21% had a part time job. Health · Injuries are the leading of death and hospitalisation for 12 – 24 year-olds · Motor vehicle crashes are the leading causes of death and injury in young people between the ages of 16 to 24 years · Rangatahi Maori are more at risk of dying than non-Maori young people · Maori youth suicide rates are approximately 50% higher than the non-Maori rate · Alcohol is the main drug of choice for people aged between 13 and 18 · More Rangatahi Maori smoke than non-Maori youth · Cannabis use and dependence is more common among young men than young women. Source: Ministry of Youth Development website, Facts and Stats section http://www.myd.govt.nz/factstats/moredetails/moredetails.aspx
Te Kotahitanga – improving educational outcomes for Maori University of Waikato, School of Education			Back to top
Te Kotahitanga is a collaborative response to the rising problem of underachievement among Māori students in mainstream schools. This professional development/research project, which began in 2001, is now in its third phase and has involved nearly 20 schools around New Zealand, 500 teachers and thousands of Māori students. In 2001 and 2002, the first phase of the Te Kotahitanga research project was undertaken by the Māori Education Research Institute at the School of Education, University of Waikato and the Ministry of Education's Poutama Pounamu Research and Development Centre in Tauranga. This research project was funded by the Ministry of Education's Research Division. The project sought to investigate, by talking with Māori students (and other participants in their education), how a better understanding of Māori student experiences in the classroom and analyses of these experiences might lead to improved policy, teaching and learning that will ultimately result in improved Māori student achievement. It also sought to identify those underlying teacher and school behaviours and attitudes that make a difference to Māori students' achievement. Overall, the research was concerned with finding out how education in its many forms could make the greatest difference in raising the educational achievement of Māori students. The project commenced with a short scoping exercise that guided the subsequent longer-term project. The longer term project commenced with the gathering of a number of narratives of students' classroom experience by the process of Collaborative Storying. These collaborative stories were gathered from a range of engaged and non-engaged Māori students in four non-structurally modified mainstream schools. It was from these amazing stories that the rest of this project developed. In their narratives the students clearly identified the main influences on their educational achievement and told us how teachers could create a context for learning wherein Māori students' educational achievement could improve. On the basis of these suggestions from Year 9 and 10 Māori students, the research team developed the Effective Teaching Profile. Together with other information from the literature and from other narratives of experiences (from those parenting the students, their principals and their teachers), this Effective Teaching Profile formed the basis of a professional development intervention. When this professional development was implemented with a group of 11 teachers in four schools it led to improved learning, behaviour and attendance outcomes for Māori students in the classrooms of those teachers who had been able to participate fully. For more information about this project visit: http://edlinked.soe.waikato.ac.nz
Shades of Pacific Youth Yvonne Kainuku-Walsh, Shades of Pacific Youth (SPY)			Back to top
The Pacific population in Aotearoa NZ has grown rapidly within recent decades.  Statistics NZ projection rates suggest that pacific peoples are one of the fastest growing populations in NZ reaching 2.2% by 2021, compared to a projected 0.6% for the total population in that year.  Statistics NZ also indicates that the pacific population is also a very youthful one; 39% of Pacific people were under the age of 15 in 2001 compared with 23% of the total population and the median age is 21 for Pacific people compared with 35 for the total population.  For all young people it is crucial to activate and support opportunities for positive youth development, yet in particular for pacific youth in an ever changing society. This exciting and vibrant population of young people feature remarkably within their families, communities, sports, song, dance, academically, etc whereby they have influenced positive contribution to an ever changing NZ culture and society. However, just as remarkably health statistics reveal issues of poor nutrition, high rates of obesity and physical inactivity, along with sexual and reproductive health concerns. With the above issues in mind "Shades of Pacific Youth", more commonly known as SPY, seek to connect and disseminate relevant information to any person, service, agency, organisation, sector who work with pacific young people either in a paid or voluntary state to enhance practice and/or initiatives for pacific young people and their families. SPY is not exclusive to the pacific youth workforce but anybody working with pacific young people. Shades of Pacific Youth (SPY) has existed for over a decade.  Initiated and sustained by Pacific people working in the youth sector who are passionate and see the necessity for a connected, vibrant, well informed, effective workforce. We are Auckland based, yet support and are open to partnering with other pacific representative and/or active Youth networking groups nationally and internationally; SPY envisage links globally with the pacific nations as a priority and other regions of the world where large groups of Pacific island populations reside i.e. Australia and Los Angeles US. Currently SPY is in the process of forming an official partnership with NZAAHD which ultimately share a similar vision for young people in Aotearoa NZ. Contact with SPY can currently be made through its committee members: Chairperson: Magnum Tuipulotu email magnum@spinz.org.nz Secretary: Yvonne Kainuku-Walsh y.kainuku-walsh@auckland.ac.nz or Melissa Lelo melissa.lelo@procare.co.nz and Renee Haiu renee.haitoua@youthline.co.nz
Positive transitions Sarah Ashton, Dingwall Trust			Back to top
Dingwall Trust’s ‘Launch’ service provides support to young people transitioning from care to independence across the Auckland area. Children raised in stable families can usually leave home and live independently, with the knowledge they can go back for support. For young people who have been in state care, many have experienced instability and trauma, with their ability to develop the skills necessary for successful independence severely impeded.  They also lack the support networks of other young people. Funded through Child Youth and Family, the service provides a planned and gradual transition from care for each young person, assisting them to develop the skills, confidence and networks of support required to live successfully in their community. Each young person is assigned a Personal Advisor, a social worker whose sole focus is on supporting young people in their transition. Their role is to assist young people with any concerns they may have about the future and to facilitate the development of skills necessary for independent living. This includes assisting them to access appropriate services and resources in the community. Personal Advisors provide an intensive, individualised programme for each young person. Janette Brown, Launch Personal Advisor says, “We work with the young person with the aim that they will be able to make informed decisions about their own life choices.” In addition to the Personal Advisor service, a Training Flat is set up in Papatoetoe, South Auckland providing a real-life learning experience for young people approaching the leaving age from care. A Launch staff member, works as a ‘head tenant’ mentoring groups of three young people who live as flatmates for a period of three weeks whilst they “practice” flatting in a situation that is set up to include all the areas that they would encounter in a real life flatting environment. Young people really appreciate the fact that they can benefit from learning the skills to go flatting before it is the real thing. They can afford to make mistakes and learn from them because they are in a safe and supportive environment. Following on from the success of the Training Flat scheme, Launch have developed a lifeskills DVD, ‘Flat Out’. Designed to be an interactive learning tool for young people, the DVD covers a mass of information on topics such as finding a flat, choosing the right flatmates, budgeting, cleaning and problem solving. With a ‘street feel’ to the DVD, an animated male and female character take the user through an array of information, using bright illustrations and animated movements. In recognition of the fact that not all young people are ready to go flatting or take up their own tenancy straight from care, Launch also provides a supported accommodation programme where young people can be placed in supportive boarding arrangements with families in the community, to provide a ‘stepping stone’ from fully supported care to independent living. Youth participation is another key aspect of the service and young people are encouraged and supported to have their say about issues which affect them. A highly motivated group of young people have undertaken conference presentations, sharing their experiences of being in care and suggesting positive change for the future. They have also presented a submission against the proposed Youth Offending (Serious Crimes) Bill, and are working with Youth Law on the development of a Youth Rights in Foster Care publication. So much focus is on when young people come into care and helping them to settle, but we can’t forget that to honour their journey through care we need to be there at the other end too, making sure they’ve had chances to develop, to learn living skills, to connect with communities. We need to ensure we stay there in the background until they are settled and really able to support themselves. Transitions are about gradual development, testing the water, trying things out and knowing there is a safety net of people and support if things do go wrong. Dingwall Trust’s vision is to see transition and leaving care services become part of the mainstream services offered to all young people in the care system. That rather than being a specialised programme which only some can access, that it becomes the right of all young people that have experienced care to have support in their transition, whether that is back to family or to independent living. For more information on Dingwall Trust or the Launch   service phone (09) 278-3699 or email admin1@dingwall.co.nz
	Future Focus: Making funding processes ‘youth friendly’ The JR McKenzie Trust has recently commissioned some research about ways of funding that involve young people, and make funding more accessible for young people's projects.  Lisa Woods researched many current schemes, and talked with a lot of youth agencies, funders, and active young people in New Zealand to see what they thought would work in their region. The resource, Future Focus, describes what Lisa learned, and includes case studies of several NZ and international models.  It's also available in a paper version - just contact us if you'd like one. Download a PDF copy: Future Focus Report
Youth focused for a just world Eva Lawrence, Just Focus coordinator, The Global Education Centre			Back to top
The world in which young people operate today is fundamentally different from that of the past.  Young people are impacted by a variety of issues and messages conveyed through media.  Terrorism, global poverty, HIV/AIDS and the climate crisis can create a sense of fear and powerlessness. While previous generations lived under the shadow of WWI, WWII and the Cold War, the present day prevalence of media sources can lead to a bombardment of messages, creating a sense of urgency and heightened hopelessness for young people. We live in an interconnected world.  Whatever affects us here, personally, in Aotearoa, is likely to be connected to a web of other global processes, affecting people all over the place. This necessitates a global awareness.  Thinking globally is about caring about the lives of other people in other places; it is also caring about ourselves and recognising our place in the global community comes with rights AND responsibilities. Exercising our global citizenship is way to overcome that sense of powerlessness. Just Focus This is where Just Focus comes in. Just Focus is a network for young people in Aotearoa New Zealand that engages with issues of global importance. The key underpinning values are youth participation and global citizenship.  Just Focus began in 2004 and now has a membership of around 180 around the country.  Through being a part of Just Focus, young people have the opportunity to: Be active in becoming informed about issues facing the world today. Discuss these topics with other like-minded young people. Gain inspiration and tools to take action. Just Focus consists of three parts: a website, regional groups and events. These three complementary ‘spaces’ cater for different young people and the different ways they prefer to engage with issues and each other. Just Focus values young people as the experts who can communicate effectively with other young people about issues.  As such, Just Focus works with its members and the media to engage with other young people through the Just Focus website and youth magazines Tearaway and JET.  In addition, Just Focus holds short film events that provide a space for young people to learn about and discuss issues. Just Focus is also involved with an upcoming youth short film competition on sustainability: The Outlook for Someday. How does participation benefit young people? Involvement in social justice issues and action supports the development of young people, while having positive impacts on their communities. Just Focus is aligned with the Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa which states that: “youth development is triggered when young people fully participate” (MYD). According to the World Youth Report 2006, “It is by questioning, expressing their views and having their opinions taken seriously that young people develop skills, build competencies, acquire confidence and form aspirations. It is a virtuous circle.” What do young people think? What is most important however is what the Just Focus members have to say about Just Focus: "If you have ever felt down, depressed or cynical about the world then Just Focus is for you. A wikid collection of passionate people who like you want a world based on justice, freedom and democracy” “It’s been great to meet other young people committed to making a positive change in the country and world.  I learned a lot about issues during the numerous discussions.” The Global Education Centre Just Focus is an initiative of the Community Youth programme of the Global Education Centre (GEC), part of the Development Resource Centre (DRC). GEC provides services to the formal and nonformal education sectors including workshops, youth advocacy, magazines, teaching resources, a website and a free lending library. For more information about The Global Education Centre and its initiatives, visit: www.justfocus.org.nz www.globaled.org.nz www.theoutlookforsomeday.net
Federation focus
A view from our President… Fran Hoover, President, NZFVWO			Back to top
Super President Fran against the forces of KAOS! Meanwhile, back at HQ,  NZFVWO’s Super President Fran is busy making use of the Federations extensive networks to monitor communications between secret sector agents 99 and Max. 99:       Why have we been called in Max? What diabolical plan is KAOS trying now? And who is this ‘Federation’ group – are they in kahoots?  Max:     Yes, they are in kahoots, 99, but with us – the good guys! We’re working together to thwart KAOS’ plans for world domination. The Federation has a new Strategic Plan, and I’m getting a new shoe-phone.         99:       Oh well, that’s all right then. Why do you need a new shoe-phone Max? Max:     Because The Federation is going to want to talk with us. It’s all part of The Plan. Remember those secret meetings we had last year – the ones disguised as focus groups? 99 I missed those – I was on that undercover mission at Kute Kidz Max:     Never mind – the scar will fade. We said at those meetings, and in self-destructing notes since then, that The Federation could do much more to thwart KAOS by being a louder advocate for us all. 99:       Hang on – Is this the Federation that runs training courses like ‘Managing your Secret Agent Team’, and produces manuals such as the classic “Laws You Can Bend and Those You Better Not Try”? Max:     That’s them, 99. They’ll carry on with those of course. But this new Plan is based on really strong communication with member Agents and all good guys in general. 99:       How are they planning on keeping the dialogue going, Max? Not all Agents have shoe-phones. Max:     No, but they do have belt buckle radios, lipstick microphones and a new device CONTROL has dreamed up called a survey monkey. They can share information with us and we can tell them what it is really like out here in the field. It’s the old “I know what you’re thinking” trick. 99:       Sounds clever. And is anyone working on infiltration of KAOS? Max:     Quick – activate the Cone of Silence!  ……… Now, 99, the Chief told me yesterday that we’ve actually got lots of our friends inside KAOS already. They are working hard on good guy stuff too. The Federation’s mission for the next year especially is to make sure that everyone in KAOS can still hear us, even under their own Cone of Silence.         99:       Well, Max, you realise we’ll be facing every kind of danger imaginable? Max:      And loving it! Over the last few months the Federation has developed a bold and challenging new strategic plan: New vision:         A strong voluntary welfare sector for a thriving equitable society New mission:       To inform, inspire and advocate for voluntary welfare in Aotearoa NZ New objectives: · Strong and mutually supportive relationships with member organisations · Two way flow of information and communications with the sector · A strong voice for common issues for the sector · Effective relationships with Government · Sustainable and financially secure organisation
From the Executive Director’s desk… Tina Reid, Executive Director, NZFVWO			Back to top
Political agendas for the community and voluntary sector It is eighteen months out from the next general election – and at this stage all political parties are reviewing and developing policies for the campaign trail. The Opposition have been quick to announce their interest in our sector, making several strong statements about the value and importance of the community and voluntary sector. They are interested in engaging widely with community organisations and discussing ideas support, funding, and accountability of voluntary organisations. They have been quick to declare policies on removing the threshold for tax free donations to charities, and tax free reimbursement of actual and reasonable costs of volunteering and tax free income of $500 per annum for honoraria. These have been welcome announcements about issues on which many organisations made considerable submissions to the Tax and Charities discussion paper at the end of last year. The current government in its budget announcements have followed suit with removing the tax rebate and a workplan to address the other volunteer support issues. This highlights an unprecedented opportunity to get issues we believe important onto political agendas.  In the last issue of New Dialogue I discussed the impact of our work over the last year on charity and tax issues, and we are now discussing how best to be involved across a range of issues in a directly  political way. As a national umbrella organisation we are uniquely placed to advocate for cross cutting issues with government, but to do this effectively it is essential we continue to talk with other organisations to build a strong and well supported case for key issues rather than all sparking off in all different directions. From our experience of collaboration in COmVOiceS over the last two years, we see opportunities to build some core messages. These can underlie individual issues and policies raised in different portfolios, and strengthen the issues raised by individual agencies. From our engagement with hundreds of organisations as members, in projects, at meetings and in conversations we have some ideas about what these issues are. Rather than starting from a blank sheet, we have discussed shared experiences and issues at our last two executive committee meetings, and have some ideas we want to develop in discussion with other organisations. We started with recognising the value and relevance of the three COmVOiceS key messages, which have now been widely discussed and developed over the last two years. These are: · Funding and sustainability · The value, scale and scope of the sector · The independence of the sector As NZFVWO, these provide us a basis to consider specific priorities for the voluntary welfare sector, and we are involved in initial discussions with political parties and will be approaching them all over the next few months. We have developed some ideas we want to discuss within the sector. These are necessarily process issues rather than specific issue policies: · Engagement with the sector about funding models – the importance of working together to address the many issues and problems expressed about funding relationships. · A joint strategy about capacity / capability building in the sector – there are considerable resources for building the skills and abilities of organisations which could be a lot more effective if there was more co-ordination and co-operation between networking organisations in the sector,  government, philanthropic funders and training institutions. · Increased focus on developing experience and methods in government to relate to our sector – such as NGO desks, forums, memorandums. · Maintain and increase investment in research into our sector · Increased projects which involve the sector in both the development of polices and strategies for key issues – and also in the implementation of them. As a start to discussing these themes, we have designed a short online survey for your input – connect at www.nzfvwo.org.nz/files/survey.htm Please use it to give us your ideas about these issues, and help us develop discussion within the sector about getting our issues onto party political agendas at this crucial stage of the electoral cycle.
Becoming members of the Federation Follow on from the New Dialogue readers’ survey results			Back to top
Its been six months since we surveyed our readers on the their views on New Dialogue. We sought feedback on what our readers liked about the magazine, how useful they found it, in which ways it could be improved and of course, in the interest of keeping the magazine sustainable, whether it should be charged for. The response, unsurprisingly, was that sector organisations would find it unlikely to squeeze out an extra payment. As a result we are continuing to issue the magazine free of cost to over 3,200 social service organisations as a hard-copy summary version and to over 2,100 email subscribers in electronic format. Not only are we continuing to provide it free, but in keeping with the feedback from the survey we are also expanding the print version to a larger format to make it easier to read and include colour photographs to break up the text and liven up the publication. Why? Because we believe strongly in the value of sharing information and communicating effectively across our diverse sector.  It is through having a collaborative voice that we gain sector strength. Please support us in achieving better outcomes, greater cohesiveness and raising a stronger voice for the sector by becoming a member of the Federation. You can find out more about the benefits of becoming a member of the Federation, and download an application form by logging on to: www.nzfvwo.org.nz/files/membership.htm
Change of face at the Federation Tina Reid, Executive Director, NZFVWO			Back to top
Naj Dehlavi has been Editor of New Dialogue for the last two years and is moving on at the end of the June. Editing and compiling New Dialogue has been a core part of this role, and we will miss his continual good humour, hard work and passion for the voluntary sector. Thankfully, we have been able to appoint someone to pick up this role – and Stephen Olsen is starting at the Federation in mid-July. So, many thanks Naj for all your hard work to build up the content and distribution of New Dialogue and we all wish you well for the future. We look forward to working with a new editor for New Dialogue and continuing to profile news and events from the community and voluntary sector.
Members’ Forum: Keeping in touch with politicians
Every issue, we ask three of our members their opinion on a topical issue. With only 18 months before the general election, we ask three members what they do to form and maintain relationships with their local politicians.
Developing strong inter-sectoral collaboration Barbara Charuk, Family Support Services, Wanganui			Back to top
In addition to providing social work services and educational programmes for parents, Family Support Services, Whanganui, prides itself on its attention to the wider issues of social justice as it relates to family violence and child protection. The agency has worked to develop strong inter-sectorial collaborations with other agencies, both NGO’s and Government. These include Police, Ministry of Education Special Education Services, Health, CYFS etc. To further promote these types of collaborations, this group is organizing a conference entitled “Collaboration for Success”. This inaugural conference in October 2007, will provide a forum to showcase the benefits of intersectorial liaison for children, young people and their families and whanau in New Zealand and contribute to the evidence base for collaborative practice Family Support Services has paid special attention to our 4 local MP’s, from 3 different parties,  by initiating meetings with them to ensure that they have an understanding of the local issues that face our families and whanau and services provided in our region. Comments from a local MP after viewing our services were “The assistance that your service provides to whanau in our community is of great importance. There is such hard work being performed in Whanganui and it’s always uplifting to hear about it, thanking you and your colleagues”.
Developing communities with local government Tony Mayow, Chairperson, Community Waitakere			Back to top
The relationship between the community sector and local government in Waitakere arose initially out of necessity; a dearth of central government social support services in the 1970s was the spur for the foundation of WADCOSS,( the previous name for  Community Waitakere). Local government was seen as best positioned to address the multiple problems of a new, raw community. WADCOSS led a successful campaign for a Community Development section in the Council. Since then a number of joint projects culminated in the Wellbeing Collaboration Project, in which central and local government agencies work in partnership with community sector groups on specified issues. The relationship has recently been consolidated by a Partnership Agreement. This provides three year funding and a common work programme, and sets out a mutual accountability framework. We believe it’s the first such agreement in New Zealand, and a precedent we hope will be followed elsewhere. There’s a few things we’ve learnt on the way, simple to state, but to be applied with patience and long term progress in mind: · Build relationships at all levels, management and political. Community Waitakere has a Councillor on the Board, presents at all opportunities to full Council, and has key relationships at staff level which lead into all areas of Council · Elect community sector people; a lot of Waitakere City Councillors and Community Board members started in community work · Find the points of agreement (there’s plenty of points of conflict…) and build on those · Make it easy for Council to work with you, ie demonstrate the benefits for them · Make full use of the Local Government Act; it makes clear Councils’ responsibilities for community wellbeing and community participation in decision making.
Get to know your local politicians Andrea Goble, Chief Executive, Social Services Waikato			Back to top
Like them or not, politicians have a huge influence on policies, budgets and positions on Community Trusts and other government appointed bodies that impact on us. They are often people who want the best for their communities though they get hamstrung once they’re in Parliament! It’s still important to keep them in touch with their communities so they can at least speak up with the knowledge and experience you can provide. After all, they are our voice in government so let’s put the words in their mouths! We’re lucky in Hamilton because our Labour MPs have formed a HUB and work from the same office.  That makes it much easier for us in terms of contacts and information. There are four Labour MPs – Nanaia Mahuta (Minister of Youth Development) , Martin Gallagher, Diane Yeats and Sue Moroney.  We also have National MP David Bennett in Hamilton. In Thames/Coromandel /Hauraki we have Jeannette Fitzsimons and Sandra Goudie. One of our Advisors is based in that part of the region and meets with them. How to meet politicians? Ring their office and ask for a meeting. Think about the priority issues and the solutions you’d like to see in place. Then meet and talk about that. Have some stories they can use in Parliament. Meet with politicians of all parties – they all have a voice and policies. They all need to know who to contact for information and community input. Make it you! Functions are a good place to meet MPS and they are always keen to shake your hand and let you know that they are there for you. We believe it’s important to talk to our MPs regardless of their party because we are well placed to let them know what’s happening in our communities and what we think about particular issues. Social Services Waikato works with social service organisations throughout the region to build their strengths, develop their organisational capacity and network. Advocacy is an important part of our work and we invited the Labour HUB MPs  to meet with us on a regular basis so that they could let us know what they’re doing and what’s happening in government and we could tell them what’s happening in our communities, the issues and concerns and how government might work towards a stronger community sector. Does your organisation meet regularly? Ask your local politicians to come along. Get to know them. Make your business their business, your issues their issues, your solutions their solutions.
Sector news
Support and recognition for the community sector			Back to top
Two major reports in the first half of this year provide unprecedented insight into the scale of the voluntary sector. These are significant additions to existing research, like the VAVA project, on the scale of the voluntary sector. The first of these reports, Giving New Zealand, was produced by Philanthropy New Zealand and provides an overview of philanthropic giving, with contributions broken down by donors: private, business, and trusts. According to the report: · A total of $1.27 bn was given towards charitable causes · Trusts and foundations funded just under three fifths (58 percent) of total estimated giving · Personal donations and bequests contributed just over a third (35 percent) of total estimated giving · Businesses accounted for approximately one fourteenth (7 percent) of the total estimated giving · Total estimated giving equates to 0.81 percent of New Zealand GDP to philanthropic causes. The second report, Counting Non-profit Institutions in New Zealand, a prelude to a more comprehensive report by Statistics to be released in August of this year, provides a snapshot of the sector organisations and the number of volunteers and paid staff engaged in Tangata Whenua, Community and Voluntary Organisations. Highlights from the report include: · 97,000 non-profit institutions operating in NZ in 2005 · Only 10% of these employed paid staff · The largest sub-sector in non-profit institutions is dominated by culture, sports and recreational organisations. · The social services sector comes in at second place, claiming 11.6% of the total size of the NZ voluntary sector · The social services sub-sector is the largest non-profit employer in the sector with 31,480 paid staff Such detailed breakdown of the community and voluntary sector's income streams through charitable giving (excludes government contracts and funding) and the Statistics report on the number of non-profits institutions and employment figures are the start of gleaning a comprehensive picture of our sector. This kind of information is crucial for the sector to articulate its needs, identify its strengths, and advocate for and develop meaningful policy frameworks. We asked a selection of people working in the sector why knowing the size of the sector is important, what these figures reveal to them and how the knowledge of these might inform their work....