Auckland Council announces new Community Empowerment unit
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01/08/2015. 11:39
노영례
A new community-focused unit that aims to better serve Aucklanders and its communities will be up and running from 1 October 2015.
The Community Empowerment unit will replace the Community Safety and Development Unit (CDS) which currently sits within the Community Development, Arts and Culture (CDAC) department.
Community Empowerment is being established as part of Auckland Council’s commitment to deliver the Empowered Communities Approach (ECA), as driven by the Mayor’s Proposal under the Long Term Plan (2015-2025).
“An empowered community is one where individuals, whanau and communities have the means to influence decisions, take action and make change happen in their lives and communities. This includes communities of place, interest and identity,” says CDAC General Manager, Graham Bodman.
“By working in fresh and innovative ways, the new unit will help enable and support communities to better improve their areas, energise them about coming together to shape local activities, and have more influence over things they care about and which matter uniquely to them.”
As part of the decision-making around designing and developing the new unit, CDS staff have participated in a robust feedback and consultation process. Staff and departments from across council fed back into the proposal. This feedback showed broad support for the proposed changes. Some changes were also made to the original proposal based on the high-quality feedback received.
“We were really pleased to see the overall clear support for the proposal, which included endorsement for the intent of the Empowered Communities Approach to embed responsiveness to Māori,” says Mr Bodman.
Two new positions that will focus on inclusive design and CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design) have been also been created – a Principal Specialist, Universal Access, and a fixed-term Specialist, Safety and Security Advisor. They will be located in the Auckland Design Office.
Mr Bodman adds, “We took steps to ensure the skill-set of accessibility knowledge is maintained. By creating these roles we are ensuring that council continues to receive considered, strategic advice on matters of importance to the disability community.”
