Technical Sessions 1
Monday 27 July (Stream One)
Technical workshops will be held 1.30pm - 3.00pm on Monday.
Please select the workshop you wish to attend on the registration form or online registration.
World economy - challenges and opportunities
Global financial events over the last year have focused our minds on financial markets. Whilst there is pressure to reduce council expenditure, there is also an expectation for local government to play a role in stimulating the local economy.
This session will review the current economic climate and provide views and examples on where local government is best investing its time and resources.
Local democracy: an endangered species?
Is lack of public participation retarding your council's best efforts to make the most informed decisions you can? Having citizens who are actively engaged in local democracy enables you to make great decisions for, and on behalf of, your communities. However, research and your own experience will tell you, that people - especially young people - are getting more and more dis-enfranchised from any form of civic engagement.
A project called Growing Active Citizens has been working now for three years focusing on youth engagement, enhancing voting participation and finding ways to make local government more relevant and meaningful to your average resident. Come along to find out practical ways you can increase citizen participation in your communities. This is an area where leadership really counts.
Treaty settlements - ensuring effective co-management
As the Government embarks on a new path for Treaty Settlements, how can councils ensure co-management arrangements that are effective in empowering iwi and will work in practice? What will be the place of local government alongside new agencies with statutory roles in managing resources? What do we mean by co-management?
This session will look at the current settlement environment, the role of councils, and consider how councils can contribute to enduring arrangements in the wider community interest.
Climate change: you might need more than a raincoat!
Councils are becoming increasingly aware of the potential opportunities and impacts of changing climate and the need to develop adaptation responses. Is it a changing climate or changing weather events to which councils must adapt? Climate scientists define ‘climate' as the average weather in a particular location over a 30 year period. The ‘weather' on the other hand is what you see outside your window right now.
Join us in an exercise which will assist you to better understand your exposure to ‘weather' and ‘climate' and how to prepare for impacts, identify opportunities and adapt to the changes.
