Palmerston North city councillor Rachel Bowen: We all need to contribute to social infrastructure

Palmerston North city councillor Rachel Bowen says elected members represent the community at as many AGMs as possible. Photo / Kevin Bills Media

OPINION

This is a particularly busy season at Palmerston North City Council. While there are always the usual meetings, committees and workshops, we’re also in the middle of annual general meetings (AGMs) for our community groups and council-controlled organisations.

We represent the community at as many AGMs as possible – it helps us to stay connected to who is doing what, and what’s going on outside the council chamber, which in turn helps us to represent you more effectively. It also gives us an opportunity to thank those who serve these organisations for the time, energy and commitment they put into the fabric of our community.

I’ve heard that called social infrastructure, and in some ways, it’s just as important as the physical infrastructure that takes up so much of our focus at the council. Social infrastructure is how we organise ourselves as a community to co-ordinate action. It reinforces the values, shared beliefs, customs, behaviours and identity that underpin the way our community works and helps shape and define who we are.

Every individual who serves on the board of a community organisation or volunteers in other roles contributes to that wider sense of who we are and helps to make sure the conditions are in place for us to achieve the outcomes we want for our community. Thank you.

It’s been my pleasure to say thanks in person to the boards of our cultural CCOs – Te Manawa, Regent on Broadway and Globe Theatre, and to chair the AGM for Creative Sounds - The Stomach.

I’d also like to thank the trust boards of Caccia Birch House and CET Wildbase Recovery, who raise funds to support the work of the council in those strategic facilities.

Last week, I chaired the Creative Communities Committee, which is made up of community volunteers who’ve given huge amounts of time to assess applications and meet to make decisions about funding. Thank you.

You’ll be familiar with the saying that it takes a village to raise a child. I think it takes a commitment from all of us to make a community. It’s not something the council could (or should) do to the city, but something we all shape from the inside out. You do that when you let the council know there’s something that needs fixing, when you contribute to a consultation process, when you support an event, volunteer your time or serve on a committee or board. Thanks for getting involved.

If you’re looking for things to do in October, check out Palmy Drag Fest at venues across the city, National Young Performer Awards at Regent on Broadway, Two Guitars at Centrepoint Theatre, or the ever-changing exhibitions at Te Manawa and Square Edge.

Rachel Bowen is a Palmerston North city councillor.