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The CommunityNet Aotearoa monthly newsletter.
"News and views on community networking throughout Aotearoa."
With the increasing number of events and training courses being published on CommunityNet, we've been considering whether they should be listed in the Panui. We've been reluctant to make the Panui longer, as one of the things people like about it is that it is a quick read, and it's been getting steadily longer with other items.
However, we've decided to try the experiment. In this Panui we've introduced two brief listings: conferences, events, and hui; and training courses. They will be listed if they are coming up in the next few weeks. For each one we give just the Title and the location. If you are interested, follow the link to the relevant section in CommunityNet for details.
Please let us know it you like — or hate — the new section: information@community.net.nz.
Next month we'll celebrate the 5th Birthday of Panui. It was first published in October 2001. Readership has steadily grown to over 800, over 100 getting the formatted version, and 55 receiving the weekly updates. It has also grown in size and coverage as more and more community items are published on CommunityNet, and has readers in every part of New Zealand.
It would be great to reach 1,000 subscribers this year — please help by forwarding this issue to a friend and suggesting they subscribe at www.community.net.nz/panui.
Former All Black Ant Strachan will put his best foot forward to lead a charity 'kick for cash' challenge in this Friday night's rugby match at Eden Park. At half time during the Auckland vs North Harbour Air New Zealand Cup match, Strachan will kick four balls and Junior Muaiava, a SKYCITY staff member, will kick the fifth ball. For every successful kick over the goalpost, SKYCITY will donate $1000 to the Kidz First Centre for Youth Health. The outreach centre promotes healthy development of young people through education services, training and research. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/all-black-returns.htm.
The New Zealand Drug Foundation and Run The Red mobile enablers, with support from the Vodafone Graduates, are launching a new drug information service for the txt generation: 'Get the Msg'. This service is a free text message information service where people can text the names of drugs, including common street names, to DRUG (3784) and receive safety information and links to further information and help. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/get-the-msg.htm.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted in New York last week, and DPA Vice President Marion Wellington says it will make a positive difference to 800 million people worldwide. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/disability-convention-welcome.htm.
This highly useful directory is an 84 page publication which includes full contact information for ministers, MPs, parliamentary select committees, judges of the court of appeal and the high court, Waitangi Tribunal, 187 government departments. All information is supplied and authorised by the Ministries, departments and agencies and is updated every 6 months. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/govt-sector-directory.htm.
The newsletter includes many items of interest to community groups. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/angoa-news-aug-06.htm.
Planning is underway for the inaugural Third Sector Excellence Awards and Conference to be held in Auckland in June 2007. This will be a national event designed to bring the non-profit sector together to celebrate its success with an aim to benchmark and educate for best practices within the sector. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/third-sector-awards.htm.
The Ministry of Health has recently released a number of reviews, reports and consultation documents: A Review of the Rural Ranking Scale; DHB Hospital Benchmark Information Report; Review of Maternity Facility Access Agreement; Electroconvulsive Therapy Annual Statistics. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/moh-reports-august-06.htm.
NZCOSS is delighted to announce that international community development specialist Tim Dyce has now been confirmed to speak at this year's Conference, Raraka Korero: Weaving Our Stories. Tim's presentation will incorporate stories of the early days of community development in the 1970s in New Zealand, using them as a starting point to discuss community development issues of both the developed and developing world. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/tim-dyce-raraka-korero.htm.
The Northland ICT projects encompassed all three 'C's' of the Digital Strategy — 'Content, Confidence, and Connection,' Luamanuvao Winnie Laban said. These projects reach out into the community, involving schools, businesses, various iwi, and community organisations across the Northland region. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/northland-ICT-savvy.htm.
Dame Te Atairangikaahu made a tremendous contribution to the community and voluntary sector through her work with the Maori Women's Welfare League and through many Maori community organisations. 'As a calm and unifying leader, Dame Te Ata has worked with all to make this country a more inclusive and peaceful nation for all New Zealanders — she will be deeply missed,' Luamanuvao Winnie Laban said. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/tribute-to-maori-queen.
From 2007, Children's Day will have a head start on Mother's and Father's Day as it moves from the last Sunday of October to the first Sunday of March. There will be no Children's Day in 2006. Groups should start planning ahead. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/childrens-day-in-march.htm.
The Christchurch office of Natural Fertility NZ would like to inform community groups with a women's health or fertility focus that due to an increased demand for our services we have employed a new fertility educator. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/natural-fertility-chch.htm.
The New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS), Wellington Independent Practice Association Limited (WIPA), Webhealth and McKesson New Zealand have been recognised for projects which show innovation and excellence in information management at the awards which were run by the Ministry of Health and announced at the Health Informatics New Zealand (HINZ) Conference in Auckland in August. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/ict-winners.htm.
The Social Report provides a picture of wellbeing and quality of life in New Zealand. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/social-report-2006.htm.
From 2007, Volunteer Awareness Week will move to the third week in June (instead of March). This means Volunteer Awareness Week will be 17-23 June next year. The new dates will mean high profile activities and publicity about the benefits of volunteering will be spread through the year to help keep the value of volunteering top of mind for New Zealanders. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/volunteer-awareness-week-2007.htm.
The funders' forums will help connect philanthropic, government, corporate and other grantmakers in a particular region so they can share information and good practice on grantmaking. It is hoped the series of forums will provide a foundation for future regional networking and communication between grantmakers, grantseekers and non-government organisations so they can better assist communities to realise their aspirations. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/regional-funders-forums.htm.
The working paper Defining the Non-Profit Sector: New Zealand, published by Johns Hopkins University has four main sections: historical background, legal treatment, major types of non-profits and the structural-operational definition. The paper captures the diversity, origins, and challenges of this vital sector of New Zealand society. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/definitions-paper-launch.htm.
This online legal resource for community and voluntary organisations has had an extreme makeover! The changes include developing a separate factsheet on Contracts, further clarifying the law relating to charitable trust boards, volunteers, and sexual harassment, and updating information relating to the Charities Commission. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/keeping-it-legal-new-look.htm.
The August issue of the Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector newsletter can be read online at www.ocvs.govt.nz/publications/#news. It's published six times a year and is full of Office, sector and government news and events. to subscribe, email ocvs@msd.govt.nz with your name and postal address. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/ocvs-august-enews.htm.
Local community groups and charitable organisations seeking funding are urged to apply for a grant in the annual SKYCITY Hamilton Community Trust funding round. Applications are now open and will close on Friday 29 September 2006. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/skycity-grants.htm.
The Social Work Study Awards are for NGO employees who want to complete a social work qualification that meets the educational requirements for Social Worker Registration. Each study award has a maximum possible value of $32,750. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/ngo-study-awards.htm.
Individuals and organisations are invited to apply for funding under the Small Grants Fund. Awards of $500 to $5000 are available. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/save-children-grants.htm.
Te Kokiri is a ten year action plan for the improved delivery of mental health and addiction services. The plan focuses on providing earlier access to mental health and addiction services and calls for stronger linkages between primary and specialist health services. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/mental-health-10-year-plan.htm.
Health and Disability Sector NGO Workforce Development — A report to the NGO Working Group written by Kirsty Peel, Health by Design Limited, raises issues critical to the viability of the NGO sector, the quality of the services they deliver and, therefore to the governments vision and the health and well being of communities around New Zealand. www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/ngo-workforce-report.htm.
Latest community news, events, jobs and ads are online at: www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news.
This website contains a regionalised database of all the addiction treatment and advice services available anywhere in New Zealand. An easy-to-follow key will tell you how to access each service. Anyone in New Zealand who is worried about their or someone else's use of alcohol, drugs or gambling, can now look up this Directory and find the addiction treatment service that is nearest to them. www.addictionshelp.org.nz.
Emerge provides a range of supported employment services for people with disabilities seeking employment in Wellington. www.emergetrust.org.nz.
Youth Parliament was started to help young people understand what goes on in government and to give young people the opportunity to express their views and opinions to politicians and the public. Youth Parliament is held every three to four years. The last was in 2004. www.myd.govt.nz/ayv/youthparliament.
The NZ Parliament website includes section on 'This Week', Submissions called for, Select Committees, Research, 'Have your say', Frequently asked questions, MPS and Parties and more. www.parliament.nz.
Training in traditional martial arts, style was developed in South Africa and has been practised for 50 years. We have clubs now in Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, U.K and the States. See website for further details on training. www.funakoshi.co.nz.
The Independent Evaluation Group's mission is to assess the relevance and impact of the World Bank Group's support to developing countries. The objective is to influence the directions of the World Bank Group, clients, and partners and to help improve development outcomes. Email newsletter and RSS feeds available. www.worldbank.org/ieg.
This site contains important resources on sustainable Maori development, produced by the former James Henare Maori Research Centre and the Tai Tokerau Sustainable Development Research Group. www.rakiora.org.
Primarily for tourists, the Tai Tokerau website has information on Maori history, language, culture and places in Northland. www.taitokerau.co.nz.
This online dictionary of Maori Dictionary from Tai Tokerau is a working draft, which therefore will contain errors and omissions of varying degrees of significance. Comments, including suggestions for new entries and material, are welcome. Please read the Panui on the website before using. Conditions of use include: (a) no copying of the files, and (b) no commercial use of the information they contain. www.edesignz.co.nz/dictionary/dictionary-index.htm.
Commonwealth Human Rights Network Links provides useful links to over 200 databases useful for human rights. The website covers important areas such as: investigation, monitoring, humanitarian protection, planning and fundraising; and different aspects of human rights (i.e. culture, gender, elections and business). www.humanrightstools.org.
A support group for all accountants. An Affiliate Group includes people who are working in our areas of expertise, but do not meet our criteria for membership, or who do not wish to study for our Professional Entry Requirements. Participation in this group entitles you to receive newsletters and invitations to Association functions and seminars. http://nz-aa.tripod.com.
To recognise and support Rangitane o Wairarapa whanau, hapu and iwi.To secure the advancement, independence and security of all Taurahere and particularly the people of Rangitane whether collectively or individually. www.rangitane.iwi.nz.
'Empowering community groups to serve their communities'. www.nscss.org.nz.
To keep the New Zealand Health and Disability Sector Directory current and up to date, the Ministry of Health are now publishing it as a series of pages on their website. They have set up navigation so people can easily access the contact details of people and organisations in the health sector, without having to scroll through pages and pages. If you want a hard copy of the Directory, you can print the relevant pages out, using the 'Print This' link at the top of the homepage. www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/new-zealand-health-and-disability-sector-contacts.
You'll find these and more links at: www.community.net.nz/links.
These Events are coming up in the next few weeks. Find details at: www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/events.
These Training events are coming up in the next few weeks. Find details at: www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/training.
If you found out too late about an interesting interview on Radio New Zealand, you may be able to still listen to it, for free, and without the bother of cassette tapes or CDs. Radio NZ now makes it possible for you to listen to live radio via the Internet, and to download certain programmes from the website.
The Internet and Radio are natural companions; the Internet frees radio from the straitjacket of a timetable — especially valuable for community radio, while listening to the radio can fit naturally with working on a computer.
Windows users will need the free Windows Media Player, while Mac users should use the free VLC media player. Windows and Mac users will find Apple's free iTunes software useful for downloaded MP3 files and for podcasts.
If you know a programme's coming up and want to listen live via the Internet, rather than using an actual radio visit the Radio NZ website and click on the Audio link at the left of the header.
When you click on the link for the programme you wish to hear, a small file, for example national.asx.asf, is downloaded to your computer. Next your audio software should start up and play the live stream for you. This requires you to be connected to the Internet while you listen.
national.asx.asf
If the programme doesn't start playing automatically and you have the correct software installed, try double-clicking the downloaded file.
You may want to catch up on an item that was recently broadcast on Radio NZ. You have two options:
Radio NZ can sometimes provide audio in two different formats: Windows Media Audio and MP3. Choose your preferred option from the Preferences page.
Use the Programmes page to find the item you want to listen to.
Once you've located the programme click on the link. Again, a small .asf or .mp3 file downloads, and you can listen to the programme as it streams from the server.
.asf
.mp3
Streaming isn't very convenient though if you wish to listen later on your computer, or put the file on an iPod to listen to on the bus.
Radio NZ are making more and more programmes available as podcasts.
Find a podcast that interests you and right-click (Mac users: Control click) on it. Choose the option to copy the address of the link. Next open iTunes, go to the Advanced menu and choose Subscribe to podcast…. Paste in the Address and click OK. iTunes adds the podcast to its list of podcasts and starts to download the most recent item.
For more information about how iTunes works with podcasts see these Tips.
Radio NZ doesn't keep old programmes around for long — some may be gone within days. If you realise you've missed a programme check the website as soon as you can.
Community and Access Radio are being quick to use the Internet, with local radio stations now able to reach all New Zealand. Two examples are:
You'll find lots more listed under 'media' at www.community.net.nz/links/SubjectAreas.
If you listen to radio live via the Internet or download audio files check your Internet plan carefully for what it will cost. Although most streaming radio is intended for listening to over a modem, some files are higher quality, large and can quickly swallow up your month's download allocation. Visit your ISP's Help Pages to find out how to keep track of usage: exceeding your monthly limit can be very costly.
[September 2006] Do your website's visitors see the dreaded "404 not found" page if something on your site is broken? They should, but it's not usually very useful — unless you choose to help your visitors.
If we want to deliberately break a website (to see what happens) we can call on Qwerty. Visit the front page of your website and click in the Address Bar, after the URL. Now add the letters "Qwerty" on to the end of the Address and press the Return or Enter key to try to visit that address. Unless your website happens to have a file or folder called "Qwerty" you'll be looking for something that doesn't exist; your web server should send you to your '404' page. That's the page that's supposed to come up when the web server can't find what the visitor's looking for.
Qwerty
404
If your visitors follow a broken link they'll probably see a blank page containing an unfriendly notice like this:
Not Found The requested URL /Qwerty was not found on this server.
Darn! Now what? Your visitor had followed a link, searched for something or typed an incorrect address. Clearly they were trying to use your website but you've just slammed the door in their face and left them out in the cold. They have no options left but to go away and forget you ever existed.
Call up the 404 Not Found page on your site and see if it slams the door or provides a key. Ask your web designer to edit the 404 page to be more friendly. Here are some suggestions:
If you have access to logs for your website keep an eye on how many times the 404 page is called up. See if the Error logs provide any helpful information, such as the address that was requested, or where the visitor came from.
Checking the logs can help you deal with these pesky errors. You may find a file is missing, a link from another website is outdated, or even that your visitors expect to find something at a particular address, but you don't have any pages there.
Try the Qwerty test on your own website. If you find you're shut out, in the cold, have a chat to your web designer and ask them to implement some of the suggestions above. Ask them how to check your server logs. If you can't get server logs ask them to find out what would be involved in tracking some statistics, using a service like Google Analytics.
Choose good names for files or directories — all lower case, shortish (but not abbreviated) and descriptive — then don't rename them. Renaming would mean anyone who has linked or bookmarked that file would get 404s; this includes Search Engines.
Check your site for broken links and fix them. If you use a tool like FrontPage, use its built in link checker before you publish, and after making changes. Or use a free tool like Xenu's Link Sleuth — an excellent checker for broken links both within your site and to other sites.
Past Website tips are all available on CommunityNet Aotearoa.
We hope the new navigation and updated look makes your browsing easier and faster. The main changes are:
What hasn't changed:
There is more to come — the site needs tuning to regain all its former speed, geographical listing of Notice Board items is nearly ready, and we have plans for more enhancements. We'll also be increasing the text size slightly.
You'll have noticed this Panui is looong. That's because we had the most community items in one month ever — 85 in August. Keep them coming; the new Notice Board will soon allow you to display just the courses and events in your part of New Zealand.
14th September '06, 9am to 4pm.
CommunityNet Aotearoa has a joint governance model, and the Advisory Group meets 3 to 4 times a year to give community input into priorities, long term plans, strategic direction and editorial policy. Meetings are open to interested members of the community and voluntary sector, by pre-arrangement, and you are cordially invited.
In August 2006 there were 33,533 visits (July: 25,574). This was a 31% rise; we expected a 15% rise due to 3 more working days in August.
In August, 85 new community items were published (July: 63):
The most popular file download was the Managing Well Catalogue: 383 downloads.
Send in your free community advertisement at: www.community.net.nz/about/submit.
Remember: please forward the complete Panui to others who'll find it useful.
Miraz Jordan, Webmaestro.
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"Reproduced from CommunityNet Aotearoa Panui, September 2006, www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/panui ".
Panui and CommunityNet Aotearoa are guided by an Advisory Group drawn from community organisations and are published by Department of Internal Affairs, PO Box 805, Wellington. Phone: 04 4957200. Email: information@community.net.nz.
While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information in this publication, the publishers accept no liability for any errors and omissions. Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors, not the publishers.