Rural Women New Zealand regional conference in Taranaki focuses on future

Nelson Pulotu spoke at the conference about the work Tūtaki Youth does in the community. Photo / Ilona Hanne

The wintry weather last Friday didn't deter Taranaki members of Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) from attending the group's regional conference.

The conference, which took place at the Stratford War Memorial Hall, featured a range of guest speakers including Juliet Vickers, deputy principal of Central School, Te Kura Waenga o Ngāmotu, who spoke about the challenges and changes in education.

Juliet studied to be a teacher by correspondence through Massey University after seeing a small classified ad in a farming magazine. She said it was the first course worldwide to offer teacher training by distance learning. She spoke to the group about how education has changed over the years, with those changes impacting everything from how students learn to the layout of schools and classrooms and the subjects offered.

Juliet Vickers was one of the day's three guest speakers. Photo / Ilona Hanne

While previous learning focused on the "three Rs" - reading, writing and arithmetic, 21st-century learning now focuses on the "4 Cs", she said.

"The Four Cs are collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking."

It is vital to change how children learn, as the world they will be living in has changed. With over half of the jobs young people are likely to be employed in as adults yet to even exist, teachers have to prepare children for a world they can barely imagine, she said.

Juliet wasn't the only guest speaker to discuss the importance of understanding what tamariki need from adults as they navigate living in today's world. In the morning, members heard from police project leader and Tūtaki Youth general manager Nelson Pulotu. Nelson talked about a range of social issues faced by young people today, from housing and financial issues to truancy.

He talked about the ways he tries to bridge the gap between police and tamariki, making connections and building relationships by spending time with young people and listening. He recalled sitting in a sandpit and playing with a group of toddlers, saying the hardest part was "getting my police hat back off them when I went to leave".

The team at Tūtaki Youth are behind many successful initiatives in the community focused on improving outcomes for young people, he said. From cookery lessons and holiday programmes to offering time in the gym and one on one mentoring, it's all about giving time and listening he said.

"As a cop, I'm always looking for the good in people. And in kids, they've got good in abundance. It's about seeing that and encouraging it."

It wasn't just the future of youth under the spotlight at the conference, but also the future plans of Rural Women New Zealand, with the RWNZ national finance chair, Jenny McDonald, the other guest speaker on the day.

While Jenny had travelled from her home in Mid Canterbury for the conference, she knew Stratford well, she said, having lived in the district for seven years some time ago.

"I met my husband Mark in 1984 in the bar of the Stratford Hotel."

Jenny talked to the group about the new Rural Women New Zealand strategic plan, and ways the organisation planned to continue to "connect with our communities and each other".

It was about moving with the times, and finding ways to connect with new members as well as retaining current members, she said.

New initiatives included the launch of a podcast series, Black Heels and Tractor Wheels, hosted by Emma Higgins and Claire Williamson, and featuring interviews with a range of Kiwi women including 2018 Dairy Woman of the Year Loshni Manikam and Rowena Duncam who is the executive producer of NZME's rural radio show The Country.

It's about making sure Rural Women New Zealand continues to be "the glue that keeps our communities together" she said. Other initiatives include the Activator Programme, which Jenny described as being "a friendly version of the Dragons Den", where rural women entrepreneurs and innovators can put their ideas in front of a panel of experts and get help and support in taking their idea to the next stage.

The conference also included morning tea and lunch, giving attendees the opportunity to have informal chats with each other and continue to network and make connections, before the afternoon finished with light entertainment in the form of a skit.