Culture Matters is a project of the Auckland Workers Educational Association. Another major project of AWEA is the Treaty Resource Centre.

Auckland Workers Educational Association
Box 78-338, Grey Lynn, Auckland
(09) 274-4270 (phone & fax)
Contact person:
Christine Herzog
Email address:
coordinator@culturematters.org.nz

Description:
Auckland WEA is a not-for-profit organisation operating locally, regionally and nationally.
Fundamental operating values include:

• that where possible, it is preferable to support others that do the work than to do it ourselves
• we need to model good practices ourselves.

Services offered:

• Education
• Audits
• Consultancy
• Research
• Resource development
• Professional development

Workshop-course descriptions:
We provide full-day and half-day workshops on Cultural Diversity which can be customised as required.
In addition, we work with organisations to promote understandings of how to work more effectively in culturally diverse environments and also to encourage and assist them to develop and apply policies which promote equity.

Our primary area is Tāmaki Makau-rau (Auckland) however we also work throughout Aotearoa (New Zealand) on request.
Our approach is to explore principles which will enhance inclusive and equitable practices across cultures. Our work is based on the premise that:

• It is contextualised in Aotearoa/New Zealand, particularly recognition of Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the basis of the relationships between tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti
• We must be accountable in our work to the cultural groups in Aotearoa/New Zealand which are not treated equitably.
• We need to understand our own cultures in order to work appropriately with others.
• In order to promote equity, we always need to address issues of power and to understand which groups are dominant in any given context or situation.

We work with:

• Community groups
• Government Departments
• Educational institutions
• Business
• General public

Other information:
We evaluate our work using a combination of participant and external evaluation methods and peer review processes.
We keep our knowledge current through reading, research, professional development, networking and peer mentoring.
Our trainers are Pākehā. We provide consultancy on a sliding scale basis to ensure equity of access to our services.

In addition to providing educational programmes Culture Matters aims to facilitate and disseminate relevant research which includes:

• identifying priorities, undertaking research and supporting others in relevant research initiatives.
• Sharing research and learning from Aotearoa with others and learning from relevant overseas research.
• supporting others who are working in this field.