Christchurch City Council supporting cultural diversity
Delivering a range of leisure and educational opportunities for community groups
Culture Galore has become an iconic multi-cultural celebration of music, dance, arts, crafts and food for the whole city. It is held in March annually in Ray Blank Park.
Likewise, the Global Football Festival has become an annual sporting fixture for Christchurch that celebrates the cultural diversity in Christchurch through the world's most popular game.
Council delivers/facilitates arts programmes and events with and for culturally diverse groups through the work of Arts Advisors and the Festival and Events Team.
Recent festivals include the Korean Culture Festival, the International Documentary Festival, the Latin Dance Festival, Diwali and the Chinese Lantern Festival.
Council also funds the development and management of some community cultural festivals and sports festivals. These have included the Primary Schools Cultural Festival, Waitaha Cultural Council events and the Pacific Festival.
Further info: Cultural diversity
The Community Arts Funding Scheme
Ensuring more Christchurch art is produced
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Learn more: Community Arts Funding Scheme
Sport Canterbury’s ClubMark
Improving club sport in Christchurch
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- We organise our lives to include free time.
- More people participate in physical and sporting activities.
- We value active leisure time.
- We all have access to excellent facilities and environments for physical activities.
Amongst other things, Canterbury West Coast Sports Trust works with clubs and sporting organisations to help develop them to become more capable and effective; ultimately enhancing participation.
Canterbury West Coast Sports Trust offer a range of programmes, courses and funding opportunities for athletes, coaches, administrators and officials. One of its programmes is ClubMark. Being a ClubMark club signals to the wider community that it is a well organised, viable and healthy organisation.
There are three levels of ClubMark; Gold, Silver and Bronze. Initially a club works with the coordinator to achieve a Bronze ClubMark, once that level is achieved they are able to work towards Silver, and finally they can continue to go on to the top level to achieve Gold. The accreditation is valid for two years.
ClubMark looks at key areas considered necessary for a sporting club, these include: sustainability and viability, volunteer development, participation and a healthy and safe environment. The ClubMark coordinator is able to assist clubs through the process.
At the initial consultation areas where a club needs help are highlighted and suggestions are made as to where help may be obtained.
Assistance is provided to enable a club to put plans, protocols and policies in place. The aim of the policies and protocols is to provide guidance for clubs to operate effectively and efficiently.
Since the ClubMark programme began in 2003 over 60 clubs have been accredited. These clubs have found that their club is now better able to plan for the future, and their members are better informed.
One club that has been through the programme is Woolston Boxing Club. Before commencing the ClubMark process Woolston Boxing Club did not publish club newsletters. The club has now started doing this. In the first edition that was circulated to members it was indicated that there was a need for more committee members. The result was that a number of new people made themselves available for the committee.
Learn more: Sport Canterbury
The Arts Council's Participation Guide
Increasing participation in the arts
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- Everybody can access leisure services and facilities.
- We all have access to excellent facilities and environments for physical activities.
The Christchurch Arts participation guide was first released in 2004 by the Christchurch Community Arts Council. Its goal was to increase public awareness of art participation opportunities. Participation is the key to the guide. Through giving arts providers from many different genres one place to promote their wares, it is hoped more people will be able to access and participate in the arts.
In the information age there is a myriad of information available, with sometimes the legitimacy of that information being questionable. So a decision was made to release the guide in a printed format, as well as on the internet, so users could be sure that what they were reading was accurate and reliable.
Following a review of the first guide the second edition was released in May 2006. There were 25,000 guides printed and 90 per cent were snapped up in the four months following the release.
The plan now is to publish the guide every 18 months, with ongoing updates being added to the website.
Learn more: Arts Participation Guide
The KiwiAble Leisure Card
Discounted recreation opportunities for people with disabilities
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- Everybody can access leisure services and facilities.
- We all have access to excellent facilities and environments for physical activities.
The KiwiAble Leisure card aims to reduce the cost for people with disabilities to participate in sport, recreation and leisure. The programme issues free cards to allow participants access to leisure related activities at a discounted rate. From its beginning in 1999, the programme has grown to include 3500 card holders, and over 50 organisations offer various levels of support. Most of the organisations provide free entry for a caregiver/support person.
The card was developed because research identified cost as the biggest barrier to participation for people with disabilities. The scheme is free to join and available to any person on the Child Disability Allowance; Invalids or Sickness Benefit or Long term ACC.
Organisations decide on the level of discount they provide participants and carers. A booklet is published that lists the activities available to participants and this also profiles the organisations involved. Additionally, organisations are offered disability awareness training for all staff by the KiwiAble Leisure Card Co-ordinator.
Learn more: KiwiAble
