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Students reach out to communities for Representation Review
Tuesday 10 February 2015
Students reach out to communities for Representation Review
About 30 students taking a University of Canterbury summer school course, CHCH101: Rebuilding Christchurch, spent five days recently finding out how local groups defined their communities.
In what is thought to be the first joint project of its type between the Council and the University ofCanterbury, the students talked to a wide range of residents from groups that do not usually take part in council consultations.
It’s all part of the Council’s grass-roots approach to the six-yearly ‘Representation Review’. The Review looks at whether residents have fair and effective representation at Council, and may result in different local body election boundaries (wards) for the 2016 election.
The students, from Peking University in China, Adelaide University in Australia, UniversitatsPadjadjaran in Indonesia and the University of Canterbury presented their findings to a joint Council / University briefing. They reported on how ethnic minorities, migrants, the elderly, disabled and young people define their communities.
Their reports threw up a wide range of issues affecting residents and offered many suggestions for how to better connect with the groups they engaged with.
Comments from the residents will help inform possible new ward boundaries. Later this year, the Council will ask the public to comment formally on its proposed new ward boundaries, elected member numbers and community boards and membership.
Background
• The University of Canterbury course is CHCH101: Rebuilding Christchurch
• Course leader Dr Billy O’Steen is the Associate Professor of Community Engagement, Deputy Head of School,School of Educational Studies and Leadership Director, Community Engagement Teaching and Research Lab,University of Canterbury
• The students are studying university / community engagement and its role in recovery from disaster.
• In helping the Council, the students and lecturers are carrying out one of the University’s new graduate activities of engaging with the community.
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