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NZFVWO Future Focus Conference
28th August 2002 Non-members are welcome to attend for a $50 fee. Includes an address by Suzanne Snively on Growth in the voluntary sector, skills-based workshops, AGM, Strategy workshops. Email admin@nzfvwo.org.nz for information. [http://www.nzfvwo.org.nz/]
Adult Learners' Week / He Tangata Matauranga
2-8 September 2002 A week to celebrate the efforts, achievements and contributions of adult learners, educators and providers and encourage more adults to access learning opportunities. A highlight of the Week will be the presentation of a range of Awards. [http://www.adultlearnersweek.org.nz/]
DevNet Conference
December 5th-7th 2002 The 3rd biennial conference of the International Development Studies Network of Aotearoa New Zealand. Topics include: Maori development, Participatory methods, evaluation and practice, Gender and development, Human rights approach to development. [ http://www.devnet.org.nz/conf2002/ ]
New Links:
See the Links/Recently Added page for recent additions.
hauora.com is a Maori-led organisation aiming to build and develop a unified, effective and Maori-led health workforce. [http://www.hauora.com/]
Carers.net.nz links carers, friends and supporters across New Zealand with special sections for young carers, parent and kinship carers. [http://www.carers.org.nz/]
PacificIslands.cc Features Pacific Magazine with Islands Business and Pacific Islands News Association Nius Online [http://www.pacificislands.cc/]
Te Reo Tupu provides computer-based and Web-based resources for te Reo Maori. [http://www.reotupu.co.nz/]
The Retina Association of New Zealand offers concise information on retinal dystrophies in plain simple terms. Accessible through magnification software and speech synthesis. [http://www.retina.org.nz/]
The Prostate Awareness and Support Society NZ covers how you know you have prostate cancer, the risk, the tests, the treatments. [http://www.prostate.org.nz/]
Tip: .org.nz
Looking for your favourite organisation's website? Well, maybe you don't need to search for the CAB, the NZVFVWO, the ESOL Home Tutors, the NRC, FPANZ, Age Concern or whatever.
In New Zealand community groups and non-profit organisations which have their own domain name are entitled to use the .org.nz namespace.
That means that you can try putting the organisation's name or initials, followed by .org.nz in the Address Bar of your browser and then press Enter or Return to visit the site.
Forget Google and try it now with your organisation.
[http://www.cab.org.nz/]
[http://www.nzfvwo.org.nz/]
[http://www.esolht.org.nz/]
[http://www.nrc.org.nz/]
[http://www.fpanz.org.nz/]
[http://www.ageconcern.org.nz/]
Site: YWCA of Aotearoa - New Zealand
The YWCA of Aotearoa - New Zealand works to empower women, especially young women, by enhancing their spiritual, physical, mental and cultural well-being. The YWCA consists of 10 local autonomous associations from Whangarei to Dunedin and a national association based in Wellington, which links to the 92 other national YWCAs in the world.
This website has several main pages. One section provides information about the YWCA itself …quot; its campaigns, herstory, contact information. The YWCA has several hostels and the website has descriptions and rates for each.
There are also descriptions of the several free zines available and information on how to be added to the mailing list, and in some cases, on how to contribute. Another page has information about a book of creative writing and how to order it.
A list of carefully chosen links rounds out the site, apart from a password protected area for members.
Most of the pages load quickly and are easy to read, though the navigation is rather confused and confusing, varying significantly from one page to another.
Unfortunately some of the pictures are missing their alt text, including, crucially, a link to a Media Kit for the Week Against Violence campaign. This media kit seems to have an enormous amount of useful information, but its layout is rather odd and again the navigation is confusing. A PDF version of the kit would have been useful for those wanting to print it.
This simple site should appeal to its target audience of young women, but could be more easily useful if the navigation were sorted out.
http://www.ywca.org.nz/
Flaxroots Technology: Brief Reflections on the American Experience.
by Bernadine Vester
Bernardine Vester was the 2002 Eisenhower Fellow to the United States. Her investigations included an analysis of the "digital divide" from the US perspective, and the responses of selected American communities to social inclusion through information and communication technologies. Since 2000, she has been the Executive Officer of the City of Manukau Education Trust.
My visits to various projects and community leaders highlighted the importance that Americans place on the value of "civic life", and explains why so many Americans place emphasis on volunteer activity at the flaxroots level.
While in Philadelphia, I noted a number of projects where Americorps volunteers work in schools and "community technology centres", helping to set up networks, and providing technical expertise for learners and community managers. Volunteers came from students, business people (the business offers an employee for 1 day a month, or 2 hours a week), and from others in the community.
The City of Seattle shows how when a city plans its approach, it can be much more targeted in the way that it supports the flaxroots. The city decided that it needed data to inform its strategy for social inclusion in the new technologies. After all, how will you know whether what you are doing is actually closing the "digital divide"?
Seattle's "Technology Indicators Project" was designed to measure the impact of information technology on the health and vitality of the city. The data to be gathered was decided through consultation, and included economic, social, and environmental indicators, not just connectivity. The data is now linked to priorities for city action and for securing resources. (See excerpts below and http://www.cityofseattle.net/tech/indicators.htm.)
This plan has some lessons for New Zealand cities: by "developing the data and indicators of progress", Seattle is now able to be "focused in its activities plan". The consensus built by the consultation drives the action plan, and the evaluation of results. Seattle is widely considered one of the most technologically advanced communities in the world. San Francisco hasn't been as strategic as Seattle. This city has lots of non-profit organizations that are working on community issues of technological inclusion. Some wonderful examples of this are:
Overall, USA action on the digital divide focuses on high-needs urban communities (often socially dysfunctional); and remote areas. Lots more information about issues for flaxroots technology can be found on the Benton Foundation http://www.benton.org/ or Digital Divide Network http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/ websites.
Bernadine Vester
Email: bernadine.vester@manuakau.ac.nz
EXTRACTS FROM SEATTLE'S HEALTHY COMMUNITIES INDICATORS
Neighborhood Internet Presence Are local communities providing information online and are people aware of the resource?
INDICATORS:
Technology Usage by Community Institutions (NPO's) Are non-profits making effective use of technology?
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