Transcript

(Please note: for reasons of efficiency this transcript was generated by AI and lightly edited by human, so there will likely be some errors)

Stephen Doran  00:05

Welcome to the Timaru District Council cast. This time we're talking to Jess Hurst about District Council becoming a welcoming community, which is kicking off in a few days time with welcoming week, Jess, glad you're here.

Jess Hurst  00:15

Kia ora. Thanks, Stephen and glad to be here.

Stephen Doran  00:17

So that's actually the theme of welcoming Week this year. And this is the first time Timaru is taking part. So warm wishes aside, what actually is welcoming week?

Jess Hurst  00:24

So welcoming week was launched in 2012. And you're right, this is the first time that the Timaru District has celebrated it, it kind of goes hand in hand with the welcoming communities programme. So coordinators all over the country are working with their communities, and coming up with a huge range of events and initiatives to celebrate welcoming week, which, of course, is celebrating all newcomers that are living in our region, so that they feel welcomed and connected and visible, here and tomorrow.

Stephen Doran  00:52

So what sort of events are taking part over the course of the week,

Jess Hurst  00:55

There is something for everyone, we have ranges, right from, um, celebrations for tongue and Language Week, which is the same the same week as welcoming week, we have a special Emily Rose cupcake, and mountain biking tour. One of the really special events that we have, as at Tianna, Maori rocket, we have a tour out there and also a really special tree planting. So it's that symbolism of putting down your roots and Tibideaux, that you are choosing our region as your home, and that you're putting down your roots here. So there's a special native tree that will be planted by everyone that is there. And that is the tree for 2023.

Stephen Doran  01:34

That's the first time that we've done it, are you sort of surprised or impressed by the amount of local people and businesses that are wanting to take part in it?

Jess Hurst  01:42

I really was. When we first got the information about welcoming week coming up, I thought, oh, you know, if we get three or four events, I'd be pretty happy. It's the first time we can ease our way into it. And next year, we'll do something big and exciting. And then our community had different ideas. So the community came on board straightaway, we put some information out on councils, social media channels, and the email is just coming in thick and fast. So it was amazing to see that our community is on board. They really want to welcome everyone here. They want to connect with people. So it's been really encouraging.

Stephen Doran  02:21

So a lot of interest in the community and more diverse cultures?

Jess Hurst  02:24

I think there is because we've got a lot of diversity here in Timaru especially as we are now a refugee settlement location. So we have Syrian refugees that are living here. So we are seeing a lot more ethnicities, and they are a lot more visible in our community as well. So I think people are interested, they're interested, we had International Refugee Day a couple of months ago, and I know the turnout from the community was was really positive. And so I think people are more aware of the different cultures that we have that are living here. And they want to learn more about them.

Stephen Doran  03:00

Because I guess there's a lot of benefits for a community being more diverse, because you get different cultures, different foods, different all sorts of things coming in.

Jess Hurst  03:08

Absolutely. They bring vibrancy to our community. They bring their own culture. And it's something to be celebrated.

Stephen Doran  03:15

Who's welcoming week for?

Jess Hurst  03:17

I think it's for everyone. It is for our newcomers. So our newcomers, of course, being people that are from overseas. So we have migrant workers and their Whanau, we have international students, former refugees. It's also for longtime residents that are that have always lived here. And people that are coming here from elsewhere can get to know each other, they can connect, they can learn new skills, we've got a dance class on this coming Friday night. So it's for everyone to come and enjoy and just get to know other people in the community.

Stephen Doran  03:49

A key part of creating a reasonably inclusive society is people actually sharing culture.

Jess Hurst  03:53

Absolutely. And that's with welcoming communities. We have eight elements of the standard. And one of those is around culture and identity. And that is about creating opportunities so that all cultures can learn about each other's cultures as well. So that we're all learning

Stephen Doran  04:11

How do other towns are under place now to other communities support welcoming because it quite a nationwide thing

Jess Hurst  04:16

It is. So generally it is those councils that have already been a part of welcoming communities. So I know places like Hamilton, which set the bar pretty high when it comes to welcoming communities and welcoming week. They've got a whole range of events going on. Some places do smaller things and that's okay. It's just whatever each community can do, to support and welcome people that are that are coming here.

Stephen Doran  04:41

So Timaru has gone off to a reasonably good start. Would, you'd say?

Jess Hurst  04:44

I'm really pleased with how we've we've gone so far for our first time. As I've said before, I wasn't expecting that outpouring of, of enthusiasm from the community to begin with. So I can only imagine what we'll be doing this time next year to celebrate welcoming week.

Stephen Doran  05:00

Welcoming week is part of the welcoming communities scheme, I'd say most people in South Canterbury would say we're a warm and welcoming community. But what does being an official welcoming community as part of the scheme mean?

Jess Hurst  05:10

The welcoming communities programme is really providing that framework so that we can make sure that we are filling in the gaps from the work that has already been done on the ground, because we have so many incredible multicultural agencies and groups that are already doing incredible work. But we want to fill those gaps to make sure that we really are doing everything we can across so many different sectors to make sure that we are encouraging people that that when they come here, this is their home. We know that people don't just move to a place they're coming to a community. And so that's what what we want to be It's got huge potential welcoming communities. So as you've said, It is led by immigration New Zealand and partnership with the Ministry for ethnic communities, and also the Human Rights Commission. So it really is providing that framework, so that we can be even more welcoming for our newcomers. We have accreditation that we can reach and that means that we are officially recognised as being a welcoming community. And that will mean that when people are deciding where to move, that they will know that Timaru is an accredited welcome community. And that means that we've reached a certain standard, we've achieved certain outcomes for our community. So there are Steve Rowe steps of accreditation. So at the moment, we're working through our first step of accreditation, which is that we are committed so Timaru District Council has committed to being a welcoming community. So in October, we will be signing a statement of commitment that shows that we are committed to this programme, and that we are committed to achieving certain outcomes for our communities. And so that first stage will be really good to get under our belt. And going forward, you continue to work to achieve your next steps of accreditation. That way, when people are deciding where they want to move, and we want people to move here, we want them to look on our website and know that we are an accredited welcoming community that we do this well. And that we when they move here, that they will feel connected and visible, and that we will make this their home,

Stephen Doran  07:21

Because that's one of the benefits of welcoming community is almost a marketing tool for the council and the wider community as well, isn't it?

Jess Hurst  07:27

Oh, absolutely, because not only do we have that vibrancy that our newcomers bring to the area, but we also, we have to also look at the economic benefit that they're bringing as well. Traditionally, we have a really low unemployment and timeto, one of the lowest in the country. And we know that, you know, we do need in rely on often our migrant workers to fill those gaps that we have, they have skills that we need here in our country and in our region. And so if they know that by coming here, they're going to be welcomed, and they'll feel safe and secure and connected, then that is good for us economically as well.

Stephen Doran  08:05

You mentioned the fact there are a lot of allied services helping people already. So where does the council fit into this kind of mix of mix of organisations?

Jess Hurst  08:13

Here at Council, we can take that lead, we can bring everyone to the table, we will have an advisory panel of local key community stakeholders that will join our panel group. And we will be creating our official welcoming plan documents. So all of those agencies that are doing such great work on the ground, a lot of them will be a part of our advisory panel. And we'll help to shape how that welcoming plan looks for our community.

Stephen Doran  08:41

Because I guess a key part of that is a diverse community as diverse or not one service is going to work for everyone?

Jess Hurst  08:48

Absolutely, because one agency can't do everything. They can't be everything to everyone. So if we can take that collaborative whole of community approach, and we bring everyone to together, and we enable the community to do what they do best. And that's a win for everyone.

Stephen Doran  09:03

So welcoming week, It's coming up, you must be excited about it starting. I am excited. I'm going to lots of events,  Which one are you most excited about at the moment?

Jess Hurst  09:12

I am I'm quite looking forward to we have on Tuesday here at Council, a refugee network meeting. So this meeting group hasn't met for a little while. And so counsellors bringing everyone together because we know that for our former refugees to thrive here that we do need that whole of community approach. We're bringing everyone together into the room. At the same time, we're actually having a ceremony for three of our former refugee families who have just who will be celebrating having lived in our district for 12 months. So that's something really lovely that we can celebrate at the same time we can have some Syrian food that they'll be sharing with us so I'm really looking forward to that and to continuing that work with our former refugees.

Stephen Doran  09:56

How are the council Community Facilities get involved in welcoming week, what sort of things are we doing within our own network here.

Jess Hurst  10:03

So we do have a couple of events being hosted locally at the library and the museum, we have a really special storytime at the library being held next Friday. So that is we have some former refugees coming in and reading an Arabic and English, and they'll also share some Syrian cookies and do some dancing as well. So that would be really lovely. And at the moment, we do have the immigrant journey exhibition on at the library as well. So that's there all throughout Welcoming week. Also, the museum is hosting a pop up exhibition. So you can go along and learn about the new theatre, Royal and heritage facility,

Stephen Doran  10:40

what are the next steps after this week.

Jess Hurst  10:42

So that's the thing, we're not just welcoming for one week, we need to be welcoming, always. So the next piece of my work is the coordinator is quite meaty, I've got a stocktake that I need to prepare. So that is where I will be going out to every corner of our region and finding out what's already happening. What are people already doing to welcome and newcomers, but also I want to hear from our newcomers, what do they think works really well? And how they are treated here and and how they are welcomed? What can we improve on? Where are the gaps? So from that stocktake, I create a document and that will be used to build our welcoming plan with our advisory panel. So we use that information to know what we're already doing well, and how we can do better.

Stephen Doran  11:29

Are there any councils that are doing this particularly well at the moment you can look to? You mentioned Hamilton earlier? Have they sort of laid a path that you can follow? Or is each district reasonably unique?

Jess Hurst  11:38

I think the thing was welcoming communities and with MBIE is that they are doing a really good job at collaborating. We meet regularly with other coordinators, and they share an incredible amount of information on templates, templates and welcoming plans that have already been done. There are some councils that are doing a very good job, we can look to Selwyn who has been a pilot. So they've been doing this for for quite a while now. They are doing some really great work. The advantage of coming in now is seeing what other places have done and how we can do it better. Because we want to be the Council that new councils, when they're joining, I want it to be: 'Oh, look what Timaru is doing". I want to be that that mark for other councils.

Stephen Doran  12:24

There's a bit of healthy competition about who's going to be the most welcoming community?

Jess Hurst  12:28

Not officially. But I think that here, we're pretty aspirational, I think. I think we are an amazing district. And the more people that come here and that we can share that with the better.

Stephen Doran  12:42

Thank you for talking to me. Thank you