Hot Issue Guide
An outline of how your group can set-up and maintain a Hot Issue.
The Hot Issue section is a place where iwi, and community/ voluntary and Maori organisations can promote their advocacy and social justice work.
Background
As the Internet is a potentially powerful advocacy tool for community organisations. Websites can reach a wide audience and be updated quickly in response to emerging issues.
However, community organisations face challenges getting their messages out. Not every group has a website and those that do often face high costs attracting a wide audience and have difficulties keeping the content up-to-date.
The Hot Issues section has been set up to provide a place where organisations can share their work promoting social change. Issues that could be addressed include social problems, international initiatives, legislation, central or local government policy, or community sector capacity.
CommunityNet Aotearoa offers a large and regular audience to be exposed to social change issues. Groups without websites can publish their own material, and groups with websites can use it to attract visitors to their own website.
The CommunityNet Aotearoa Advisory Group has agreed on criteria for organisations wanting to set-up a Hot Issue. The criteria are set-out below.
Copyright of original material in each Hot Issue is held by the organisation that wrote it. Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors, not the publishers.
Using a simple web-based tool, an organisation will be assigned responsibility for maintaining its own Hot Issue. It is easy to cut and paste from word-processed documents to the website. Training on how to use the publishing tool will be provided.
Content that can be included:
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Analysis of legislation, research or discussion documents
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Publicity material, eg postcards, form letters
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Research or background reports
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Submission guidelines
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Copies of petitions or factsheets
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Links to websites
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Contact details.
The system has been set up to encourage regular updating of each Hot Issue. Organisations that publish new material at least once a month will have the highest profile.
Each Hot Issue can have a visible human presence - for instance, a spokesperson or organisational representative can include a photograph.
A dedicated URL (website address) will be provided for each Hot Issue so that organisations can publicise their page in newsletters, emails, etc.
Criteria for Applications for Hot Issues
The Advisory Group has decided that any tangata whenua or community organisation can apply to set-up a Hot Issue.
Applications will be assessed against the criteria set-out below. Hot Issues must be:
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nationally significant, including local or regional issues which have a national impact
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balanced and well-researched
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updated frequently (at least once a month)
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resolvable and have a specific time-frame (ie issues related to universal moral issues will not be accepted)
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focused around a clear statement or objective (eg influencing a particular decision or process with a set deadline)
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focused on community-wide not personal issues
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'owned' by a group which takes responsibility for the contents, with contact details published online.
To ensure each Hot Issue contains high quality and credible content, the following apply:
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Website presentation styles (eg maximum page size, use of optimised graphics, house-style for text, use of Alt-text for images, etc).
More information on each of these is contained in the Hot Issues users manual.
The CommunityNet Aotearoa Advisory Group makes the final decision on requests for Hot Issues. Before you start work on a Hot Issue you need to contact us. We will discuss with you the procedure you need to follow, and identify any potential problems. Training on using the online editing tool will be provided.