Howick Local Board has given a green light to the rest of its Customer and Community Services work programme – putting a focus on the area’s diverse cultures.
This one is the most complex of the board’s different work programmes, dealing with a wide range of services and departments, involving collaboration between the local board and staff from across the council.
Local Board chair Damian Light says they have woven feedback from the community to help guide their decisions.
“We’re very grateful for the constructive feedback we received earlier this year and we’ve used this to help prioritise our work programmes. We heard very clearly that locals want to be able to engage with local history and share their diverse cultures; so, we will continue to support this diversity via our festivals, arts, culture, music and heritage, activities, and experiences,” he says.
“Young people under the age of 25 make up over 30% of the population in our area and it is important they can have a voice on the issues that are important to them.
“We are enormously proud of the work the Howick Youth Council do and are proud to support their priorities to improve and promote youth participation, inclusion, and empowerment.”
Arts Out East
Arts Out East is a community arts service, promoting diverse creative arts in East Auckland.
They broker work within the Howick Local Board area, offering guidance in range of arts activities and activations for local audiences.
These include art installations, public events, theatre, dance and cultural performances and creative workshops, some of which include Dance Around East Auckland Gems, Pacific Frequencies, Feed your Eyes and the Art in Conversation series.
Howick Youth Council
The Howick Youth Council is a collective of passionate individuals striving to make Howick, Botany, Ormiston, and Pakuranga a more attractive and vibrant place for its young people.
An independent and non-partisan entity, they organise events, advocating for issues that matter to young people, and facilitating consultation on council plans that will impact youth.
New work
New items for the Customer and Community Services work programme include funding for a dedicated Youth Facility and Programme, shifting their Celebrating Cultures event to become an annual event, and a local crime prevention fund.
After voting on whether to keep Movies in Parks, the board passed a decision to not run the event this year.
The board have agreed to maintain some funding for Music in Parks although there will be more discussion around the event.
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