Update - December 2022
I had intended to get this blog up and running months ago … so this a quick summary to describe all that happened at Dream South D in 2022!
In February 2022, seven people from a group of interested community members came together for the first time as the steering group of Dream South D. The group started meeting fortnightly: getting to know each other, setting ground rules for working together and learning about the project.
It took some time (and some Covid disruptions), but on 28 June 2022 the steering group signed a five-year partnership agreement with the Department of Internal Affairs and fundholder The South Dunedin Community Network. On that day, Dream South D officially started!
As well as signing the partnership agreement, in 2022 we:
developed a profile of South D to get an overview of the demographics of the area
welcomed Bob Byrant to steering group meetings as an advisor from Ōtākou Marae
drafted an engagement plan with steps for hearing the voice of the community
facilitated a workshop at the South Dunedin Community Network’s community hui and collected more ideas and stories at community events from October through to December
engaged Ahikā to mentor us and provide data analysis in the engagement phase
deepened our understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the history of South D
attended a national hui in Wellington for community-led development groups
visited Project Bruce in Milton
updated the community on our activities through email newsletters and The Lowdown
created this website and formalised our mission and kaupapa
advertised for a community facilitator - our first paid role!
As we’ve learnt more about community-led development, we’ve picked up the pace and the path ahead has become clearer. We finished the year with a concrete plan outlining what the first three months of 2023 would bring. More on that in a later post!
Ka kite, Sarah (Convenor, Dream South D)