Return to Provider Information Form

Example: Auckland Workers Educational Association

Name of organisation or group:*
Auckland Workers' Educational Association (AWEA)

Physical address:*
N/A

Postal address: *
Box 78-338, Grey Lynn, Auckland

Name of contact person: *
Christine Herzog

Email address: *
coordinator@culturematters.org.nz

Phone and fax numbers: *
(09) 274-4270 (ph & fax)

Website address:
http://www.culturematters.org.nz

Would you like a link to your website from Culture Matters:
Yes

How would you like your organisation to be described: *
Auckland WEA is a not-for-profit organisation operating locally, regionally and nationally. We currently have two major projects: The Treaty Resource Centre which focuses on of Waitangi application within organisations and Culture Matters which focuses on equity for culturally diverse groups.

Services offered: *
Education
Audits
Consultancy
Research
Resource development
Professional development

Which of the following areas do you specialise in:
General approach

Workshops and courses:
Yes

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.

Geographical areas/location for delivery of cultural diversity related education/training programmes:
Primary area is Tamaki Makaurau (Auckland) however we also work throughout Aotearoa (New Zealand) on request.
For example: local (name suburbs) regional (Auckland region) national (New Zealand)

Geographical areas/locations for delivery of other cultural diversity related activities:
Primary area is Tamaki Makaurau (Auckland) however we also work throughout Aotearoa (New Zealand) on request

Types of groups worked with: *
Community groups
Government departments
Educational institutions
Business
General public

Describe any philosophical principles that guide your work:
Our approach is to explore principles which will enhance inclusive and equitable practices across cultures. Our work is based on the premise that:
a) 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
b) We must be accountable in our work to the cultural groups in Aotearoa/New Zealand which are not treated equitably.
c)We need to understand our own cultures in order to work appropriately with others.
d) 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.

Specific values AWEA operates include:
- where possible, it is preferable to support others that do the work than to do it ourselves;
- we need to model good practices ourselves.

How is your work evaluated:
Participant evaluation
External evaluation
Peer reviews

How do you keep your knowledge current:
reading/research
professional development
networking
peer mentoring

Ethnicities of trainers:
Pākehā

What is your charging philosophy:
We provide consultancy on a sliding scale basis to ensure equity of access to our services.

Any other information:
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.
We also aim to support others who are working in this field.