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PANUI Issue #64, July 2007.
The CommunityNet Aotearoa monthly newsletter.
“News and views on community networking throughout Aotearoa.”
Contents.
- Panui News
- Community News
- New Community Sites
- CommunityNet Events: Events coming up soon.
- CommunityNet Tip: Use the Print View.
- Web Tip of the Month: From documents to community.
- What’s Hot on CommunityNet
Panui News
Team changes at CommunityNet
After six years as Community Net Aotearoa’s Web Maestro, Miraz Jordan has moved on to focus on writing about Internet and other technology – both for community groups and the general public. One of her current projects is Webguide 2, a follow-on from Webguide: Connect your Community (http://webguide.net.nz). Over this time her valuable contributions have helped to keep CNA alive, vibrant and timely. Miraz will continue to contribute CommunityNet and Website tips for Panui. Nick Stanley has joined the team as Web Content Writer. He will be responsible for looking after the website, handling queries as well as compiling and publishing the Panui
Community News
Community Participation Toolkit.
A new Community Participation Toolkit has been launched at the University of Otago’s Department of Public Health. The Community Participation Toolkit will assist primary health organisation boards, staff, member organisations and communities to review their levels of participation and their progress over time.
www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/community-participation-toolkit.htm.
Mahi Aroha Report.
A recent report “Mahi Aroha: Maori Perspectives on volunteering and cultural obligations”, published by the Office of the Community and Voluntary Sector (OCVS), was highlighted at the recent NGO-Ministry of Health Forum as being a very worthwhile read.
www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/MahiArohaReport.htm
Welcome to Volunteer Awareness Week.
Volunteer Awareness Week (17 — 23 June 2007) is a time to celebrate and thank our many thousands of volunteers for the wonderful work they do in our communities, says Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector Luamanuvao Winnie Laban. Over one million New Zealanders are actively involved in formal or informal voluntary work each year, putting in millions of hours of unpaid work. Volunteers build local social networks of trust, reciprocity and understanding. Volunteers themselves also benefit through a sense of achievement, contribution, participation in their community and a sense of belonging. The generous act of volunteering enriches our unique national identity as kiwis.
www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/volunteer-awareness-week.htm
QuickStats About Incomes: 2006 Census.
QuickStats About Incomes looks at the income of adults (aged 15 years and over) who usually live in New Zealand, and the income of families. Information in this QuickStats is based on New Zealand’s 2006 Census of Population and Dwellings. Some comparisons over time are also included.
www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/quickstats-incomes-2006.htm
Te Wananga Kotohora – Matariki 2007.
The bones of 19 pilot whales that were flensed and buried after last year’s mass stranding along Bream Bay were given away at a wananga at Ruakaka, south of Whangarei. The decision to hold the wananga to bring people together to learn more about the Maori appreciation of whales during the Matariki gives an auspicious start to the new year.
www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/wananga-kotohora.htm
Regional snapshots.
Nine regional snapshots developed for a series of regional funders forums are now available online at www.giving.org.nz/node/296. They highlight key data from sources such as The Social Report, Funding Information Service and the NZ Census. They also summarise Community Outcomes identified through various long term council planning processes.
www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/regional-snapshots.htm
Careerforce: Future workforce skills development.
As part of the tertiary education reforms, there is an opportunity to assist Careerforce to inform the Tertiary Education Commission what our sector needs when it comes to training. If you have an interest in future workforce skills development at a strategic level then this meeting will be of great interest to you.
www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/careerforce.htm
NGO Relationships with MoH and DHBs.
The Health and Disability NGO Working Group is conducting an on-line survey of NGOs to find out more about the relationship you have with the Ministry of Health and District Health Boards. You have until the middle of July to complete the on-line survey.
www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/ngo-moh-dhb.htm
It’s time to reward Wellington’s valued volunteers!
The 2007 Volunteer Awards recognise volunteer groups in five categories: heritage and environment, health and wellbeing, arts and culture, sport and leisure and educational and child/youth development. You can nominate not-for-profit groups or organisations that work in the interests of the community until Tuesday 31 July.
www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/reward-wellington-volunteers.htm
Nominate a community organisation for Open Source award.
Open source software is changing the way people and organisations collaborate and innovate to achieve common goals. Nominations close 17 August 2007. Award Category G: open source use for community organisations. This award recognises outstanding use of open source for community organisations, including charities and other non-for-profits, in New Zealand.
www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/open-source-awards.htm
Problem Gambling Service Plan Published
The Ministry of Health has recently published “Preventing and Minimising Gambling Harm: Three Year Service Plan 2007-2010â€. The service plan outlines the Ministry of Health’s plan to fund primary (public health), secondary and tertiary prevention services and activities, including research and workforce development, to minimise harm from problem gambling.
www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news/national/ProblemGamblingServicePlanPublished.htm
Latest community news, events, jobs and ads are online at:
www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/news.
New Community Links
Employer’s Guide.
An Employer’s Guide includes five electronic guides for employers. The first guide is “How To Avoid A Personal Grievance”. The site also offers free checklists and templates on how to write warning letters and dismissal letters including redundancy and sickness/illness.
New Zealand Property Investors’ Federation (NZPIF).
New Zealand Property Investors’ Federation, (NZPIF) is the umbrella body for local Property Investors’ Associations throughout New Zealand. The site has useful links for people with residential rental properties, including a discussion forum, which may also be useful to tenants.
Solar Smarter (EECA).
Slash your power bill with a solar water heating system. The Solar Smarter (EECA) site has information for home owners, the building industry and the solar industry.
Tiaho Trust.
Tiaho Trust helps you find the support that best meets your needs. We aim to provide a comprehensive guide to disability support services funded by the Disability Services Directorate of the Ministry of Health in the Auckland and Northland regions.
Anew NZ.
Anew NZ’s purpose is to create positive change, moving toward a sustainable society. Strategies include public awareness for achieving a sustainable future, inspiring holistic change through empowered public and civil society, working with business and government, develop a Voice of Civil Society on these matters, conduct workshops, communication hub website, and develop a national shared vision and progress indicators toward that objective.
Tauiwi Solutions
Tauiwi Solutions is a facilitation service offering community facilitation and workshops. We have been running Treaty of Waitangi workshops for a wide variety of groups since the 1980s, and specialise in decolonisation workshops for Pakeha and other Tauiwi.
You’ll find these and more links at:
www.community.net.nz/links.
CommunityNet Events: Events coming up soon
Events
These Events are coming up in the next few weeks. Find details at:
www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/events.
- ANGOA Roundtable, Wellington.
- National Conference of Teachers and Tutors in Supported Learning, Rotorua.
- Public Health Association Conference 2007, Auckland
- Youth Parliament, Wellington.
- National Kaumatua Service Providers Hui, Ngaruawahia.
- Victim Support Information Evening, Wellington.
- Iyengar yoga, Christchurch.
- Community Tree Planting Events, Auckland.
- Preparing for a Stress-less Audit Workshop, Auckland.
Training
These Training events are coming up in the next few weeks. Find details at:
www.community.net.nz/communitycentre/training.
- Health and Safety – a guide for sports groups, Christchurch.
- Let your volunteer programme soar! Wellington.
- Life Cycle Analysis, Auckland.
- The Context of Volunteering, Christchurch.
- Interactive Drawing Therapy, Auckland, Palmerston North, Napier.
- Legal Education for Everyone, Hamilton.
- Governance Training and Education for Board Members, Throughout NZ.
- Volunteer Support Worker Training, Auckland.
CommunityNet tip: Use the Print view.
Many websites are busy and cluttered. Useful articles may span several pages, surrounded by blinking, flashing ‘stuff’ and ‘junk’ and ‘clutter’. It’s annoying. It’s hard to read. It’s distracting.
You have the power.
But you’re not at the mercy of those sites. Many websites offer a Print view that puts the entire article on one page. It generally strips out irrelevant images, and provides plain text in easy to read black on white.
Choose the Print link.
Whenever you encounter that kind of situation always look for the Print link. Sometimes it’s at the top of the article, other times it’s at the bottom. Click the Print link and see what happens. If a dialog box appears asking you to confirm your printer settings just click Cancel. You don’t have to *actually* print the article on paper.
A working example.
For example, while the Dominion Post pages aren’t too bad, they often use flashing, distracting ads beside the articles. Try this one: Looking at what Kiwisaver has to offer
When I visited there was an animated ad for Inland Revenue right beside the text I wanted to read. Click the Printable View link at either top or bottom of the article and you should reach this page: www.stuff.co.nz/print/4114509a6034.html
It’s gorgeous: clean, clear, straightforward, easy to read. And if you feel comfortable with web addresses, look at the pattern: the ‘flashy’ pages have /dominionpost/ in the URL, while the ‘clean’ pages use /print/ instead.
Acknowledgements: this article is based on a tip I read at ‘Lorelle on WordPress’: The Rant Against Multiple Page Posts
Panui tip contributed by Miraz Jordan, http://mactips.info/
Website tip: From documents to community.
The ‘social’ Internet is all about community. More people are more connected more frequently than ever before, in what some are calling ‘ambient intimacy’.
Connect documents.
When Tim Berners-Lee invented the Web in 1991 its purpose was to store and *connect documents*, to create ‘a common information space’. (See The World Wide Web: A very short personal history) And for the last 15 years or so the Web (version 1) has connected information very successfully. New Zealand community groups have seen its value, and a significant number of groups now have a website providing information.
Connect people.
But recently communication technologies have //exploded// out into a new direction. The web (and cellphones) are no longer just about connecting documents. Instead the Web (version 2) is all about *connecting people*: creating community. The speed, brevity and variety of communication have accelerated, while the cost has plummeted. A couple of decades ago you could make an expensive phone call overseas, or send a ‘wire’, or a cheaper but much slower letter. That about covered your options.
In 2007 you can use a cellphone to call or text or send a photo to a person anywhere in the world. You can use a computer to make a phonecall, free of calling charges, send an email, an Instant Message, make a video conference call. It costs just a few cents connection fee. And it’s instant.
Faster, briefer, more casual.
Emails are briefer and more relaxed than letters. Text messaging is briefer than emails. Tweets — using the Twitter service, through web, Instant Messaging, SMS messaging, RSS feeds, or special software, and using a desktop or laptop or handheld computer, or a cellphone — are briefer still, more immediate and even more casual.
With the release of the iPhone, computers are becoming phones and cameras, while phones are turning into computers and cameras and voice recorders. Modern smartphones can surf the web, show YouTube videos, send emails (with attachments), take photos, send txt and pxt messages, store voicemail, carry a calendar and address book, remind you of meetings, find nearby restaurants and even provide a map with driving directions.
Web 2.0 is community.
People are using the Internet, texting, and phonecalls to *share*. They share themselves and their lives: their thoughts and opinions through blogs; their knowledge through Wikipedia; their videos of what the child or the dog did that was cute; their home-made documentaries; their songs and favourite music; their web bookmarks; their photos; their restaurant reviews; the fact that they’re marching to Parliament, or they have to wash their hair, or that they just used their radio telescope to bounce poems off the moon.
Ambient Intimacy.
“Ambient intimacy is about being able to keep in touch with people with a level of regularity and intimacy that you wouldn’t usually have access to, because time and space conspire to make it impossible.” — Leisa Reichelt
(http://www.disambiguity.com/ambient-intimacy)
A challenge for community groups.
The challenge for community groups is to keep up. To communicate with an audience you need to find out where that audience are. If the people you want to reach are using SMS and not email then there’s no point emailing them. If your audience are flocking to the Second Life virtual world, or the Facebook networking site then just offering a web page with some files to download is a waste of time.
Future Panui tips will look at some of the popular sites and technologies. Stay tuned.
Panui tip contributed by Miraz Jordan, http://mactips.info/
Past Website tips are all available on CommunityNet Aotearoa.
What’s Hot on CommunityNet
Web statistics.
In June 2007 there were there were 29,613 visits (May: 35,784).
Last month, 54 new community items were published.
- 15 news articles.
- 06 links to new websites.
- 19 jobs advertised.
- 07 events advertised.
- 07 training courses or resources.
Send in your free community notice or advertisement at:
www.community.net.nz/about/submit.
File downloads.
There were 6,162 files downloaded (May: 6,690). The most popular file download in June was the ‘Sample charitable trust deed and guide to its clauses’ with 241 downloads: in May this was the Planning section of the Community Resource Kit: 359 downloads.
Find CommunityNet statistics at:
www.community.net.nz/about/website/statistics.htm.
Remember: please forward the complete Panui to others who’ll find it useful.
Nick Stanley, Web Content Writer.
Notes
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