Ordinary lives of extra-ordinary people in Tamaki: Creating TIES that strengthen.
On 17 November 2010, exactly two years after the first draft of the Tamaki Inclusive Engagement Strategy (TIES) was completed, the TIES Team gathered to launch their book and accompanying resources, entitled Creating TIES that strengthen. Te Waipuna Puawai, is one of 11 members of the TIES team and co-author of this community publication.
The TIES Team came together in 2008 to explore better ways of doing things across Tamaki communities and with government and interested others. With local support and the commitment of the Tamaki Transformation Programme (TTP), Inspiring Communities, the Tindall Foundation and the ASB Community Trust, the book documents the first eighteen months of the TIES journey.
The idea of transformative change and doing things differently struck a chord with members of the TIES Team. Their community-led initiative sought to respond to TTP by developing collaborative relationships that positioned Tamaki communities as agents of change, and as co-developers and decision-makers in any initiatives affecting their futures. The TIES book reveals the confidence and assurance of communities who know they have parts to play in transformational developments, and also know how they want to play those parts.
The book offers a principle-based framework and tools to guide effective community engagement in Tamaki:
We promote collaborative reflection on and in action, on the basis that many eyes can see more than one set and a room full of ears will hear more than one pair. We strive to speak as a collective voice; respecting our individual interests and various connections, and knowing our communities will keep us in check. (P24)
Said Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse at the launch, “It has taken me to come to Glen Innes to feel really comfortable [with the Auckland Council] because this is the stuff of my heart and this is exactly the place to start…the best thing that you could possibly have done is record the things that work. We need these stories to know the right thing to do. And the first thing to do is to come and talk to the community. You have done the homework, the mahi, the time, you have put the energy into recording the stories of who you are and how you want to work with us and I just want to say thank you, thank you so much.”
The book was launched in the Glen Innes library, in the company of over 200 guests from across Tamaki, Auckland. The festive programme powerfully demonstrated this community’s knowledge and its determination to be an active partner in decisions and developments affecting their future. Speeches were relished by a group of talented youth from Tamaki College, who expressed their understandings of TIES through poetry, rap and dance. The kapa haka roopu of Ruapotaka Marae sung heart-stirring songs and a multimedia presentation communicated reflections on the journey from TIES team members. Longtime resident, active community worker, and dearly loved kuia, Dolly Walker, blessed the book and read the TIES poem, which was followed by the sharing of food.
In endorsing the book, Tamaki Transformation Chair Pat Sneddon reminded everyone of the transformational power of community action:
“…it’s a truly transformative power when a community expresses to those in power exactly where the brilliance lies, and the brilliance lies in people taking control of their own destiny and in this community with this process you are narrating that dream, you are telling that story because that story is foundational…you must be the authors of your own future in this process”
Pat Sneddon
You can buy a copy of the book and read more about TIES at www.tiesbook.org.nz
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