Neighbours Aotearoa update: 22nd February 2023
Kia ora One week until Neighbours Aotearoa 2023 kicks off!
Thank you to all who have let us know what you plan on doing this March. We’ve received registrations from all over the motu - from big cities to small rural towns - from the top of the north island to as far down as Gore. Here are just some of the ways people have told us they’re taking part this year:
- “My daughter and I will be making homemade treats for our neighbours.”
- “I'm thinking about setting up a neighbourhood book swap shelf.”
- “Celebrate our rural and coastal location through a community event at our community hall.”
- “Make contact with some new neighbours.”
- “A street BBQ to meet all the neighbours as I have just moved in.”
- “Reconnecting with the people in our cul-de-sac after the last two years of Covid.”
- “Neighbourhood event in the park.”
If you need ideas, support or resources to make your event or activity happen - even just a bit of support to reach out to a neighbour, let us know!
You can also link up with a local Connector near you.
Ngā mihi
The Neighbours Aotearoa team
Neighbours Aotearoa will take place from 1st to 31 March 2023.
Register your intention, activity or event for Neighbours Aotearoa.
By registering your idea we can see all the wonderful neighbourhood activities and connections being made across Aotearoa. We can also support you with tools, promote your event if it is for the general public and link you up to your local connector.
A reflection from a member of the Neighbours Aotearoa team
By Lucette - a Lead Connector
When disaster strikes, who can we turn to for support?
At Neighbours Aotearoa, we’ve heard many encouraging stories these past two weeks - the story about the neighbours with a trailer going around the neighbourhood doing dump runs to take away tree branches, sodden carpets and ruined furniture; the story about Northland communities getting together to share kai and uplift one another by listening to each other’s stories and helping each other process the emotional toll of fear, worry and loss.
These stories are just the tip of the iceberg. I’m sure we’ve all seen and heard many more. It’s easy to see that Aotearoa is full of supportive people who will look out for one another when the crunch comes, that communities are more resilient than we thought and do band together to address a crisis before emergency services can get there. As Melissa, our Connector based in Te Atatu Peninsula (Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland), puts it, “This is when we realise that the connections we have in our neighbourhood can even be life saving.”
Living in Ōtautahi/Christchurch throughout the 2010-2011 earthquakes, I saw the rise in community spirit, and then in the year or two afterwards, for many people it disappeared again. Neighbours Aotearoa is about keeping that spirit alive.
We’re encouraging - and supporting - people to take the opportunity this March to reach out to their neighbours. Popping a note in a few letterboxes, smiling and introducing ourselves, or perhaps organising a neighbourhood get together - these are all the first steps in creating a stronger community that can take care of its vulnerable people - and all people - through a time of crisis. This might extend to shared resources (sharing tools, kai, car pooling) and activities (sharing child care, garden working bees, local park/river clean ups) and so much more.
What are you going to do for Neighbours Aotearoa this year?
Grab a pack of stickers
Order your sticker packs today online - as there are only a handful left!
Activity tool kit
Need some invites, posters or even decorations for your Neighbours Aotearoa activity this year? We've gotcha covered.
We've put together a brand new activity tool kit that you can download and use. It includes: editable invitations, editable posters, bunting, social media tiles, and an activity guide.
Download your Neighbours Aotearoa activity tool kit.
Small funding grants for local activities
We’ve collated local funding grants that align with Neighbours Aotearoa activities.
Check out what funding support is available in your area.