Kia ora from Minette,
For those that don’t know me, my name is Minette Hillyer and I’m a Senior Narrative Advisor at The Workshop. One of the things I really value about working here is how varied it is: I work across research and training, and across all kinds of complex issues — from climate change to health to housing. Within all this variety, a common thread in our work is the value of supporting people so that we can participate by sharing knowledge and making decisions about the issues that really matter to us.
This blog features:
my reflections on doing an oral submission to the Select Committee on climate adaptation
a run down of our upcoming in-person training being held in Wellington in September
Both are to do with that same key theme: working together as communities, and enabling wide, diverse participation in public life.
I look forward to working with some of you soon!
Ngā mihi Minette
Submission to the Select Committee on Climate adaption
This week, Jess and I presented our team’s research about how people in Aotearoa think and reason about climate adaptation to a Parliamentary Select Committee. We’re really grateful for the opportunity: select committees are an essential part of our democratic infrastructure. They’re also pretty formal. Fronting up to an inquiry relies on access to resources and a certain amount of confidence, including the conviction that you have something specific and worthwhile to say. In infrastructure terms, they’re a bit like the lobby at Parliament: accessible in theory, but in practice not a place most of us find ourselves that often.
For big decisions like the ones that climate adaptation demands of us, select committees are a great start. But our research showed that adapting to climate change in a way that is fair and just is going to require a whole range of ways for people to join in that will extend further out into the places we are day-to-day. This means decision-making that is rooted in communities, with people who live in, care for, and know the place taking the lead. It also means decision-making that is flexible, unfolds over time, and recognises culture and embraces diversity as an essential strength. Our colleagues at Australia ReMADE would describe this way of making decisions as a part of “an infrastructure of care, connection, and contribution.”
People care deeply about climate change, and want to live in connected communities with the opportunity to contribute to making decisions about the places that sustain us all. Our research showed that we are ready to support one another, but many of us feel at a loss about what change could mean, and — without access to clear information and support — are frightened by the prospect of change that is forced upon us. All that fear and risk can ‘blow our thinking caps off’ and cause us to pull away from one another at the moment we most need to be pulling together.
So in our presentation, we focussed on three things:
the need for all of us to hear more about what we are working toward with climate adaptation, and less about the risks that we are trying to avoid. For starters, this would be more connected communities, more green spaces in our cities, and streets which are more open to people.
the need for decision-making processes that involve the whole community. This means recognising the real leadership and knowledge that mana whenua already offer when it comes to community-led decision-making and that disabled people have in designing systems that can work for everyone. Likewise, young people, people who rent, and people who experience economic hardship need to be empowered to lead from the very beginning of any planning processes. This will help to make sure that any decisions we make don’t simply benefit those who have the most already.
the need for local and central government to provide all of our communities with transparent, well-resourced, and inclusive opportunities to participate in decision making. This includes offering and properly resourcing processes like Citizens Assemblies or community budgeting. It also means clearly defining the roles and responsibilities that local and central government have in supporting adaptation, and demonstrating their commitment to walk alongside us as adaptation occurs.
Change is messy, just like democracy is. We hope that what we conveyed to our elected representatives this week is the benefit of looking at climate adaptation as an opportunity to build infrastructure that will support connections between us as people, and between us and the places we share and care for. This kind of process is good for decision-making, it’s good for democracy, and it’s good for us all.
You can read our oral submission to the select committee on our website.
Join us in Wellington for in-person training
We're looking forward to our next round of in-person training. First off is Wellington where we'll be running our 1-day training that is an introduction to framing and narratives on 12 September followed by our half-day training that equips you to deal with difficult conversations and false information on13 September.
We schedule the courses together to make it easier for people who wish to do both. Book before 11 August to take advantage of Early Bird pricing.
1-day Introduction to framing and narratives (Narratives for Change) - 12 September
This training is designed for people who want to learn how to use framing as a tool to engage and connect people with your area of work. You'll leave the training with:
A new lens through which to approach your communications
A framework to identify the communications around you and their likely effect on people’s thinking
An understanding of the challenges you face
A set of strategies to connect with people and deepen their thinking on your issues
A template to create effective stories and to think about your strategic media and communication
A renewed sense of hope
Half-day Preparing for Difficult Conversations and False Information (Countering False Information) - 13 September
This training introduces and then provides opportunity to practice three proven tactics to address false information. It is ideal for:
People responsible for public consultation
People planning for difficult conversations
Communications and social media teams
People on the front line dealing face to face with the public
People encountering false information in their daily lives’
People working on climate, health, te tiriti, justice, and other topics where they regularly encounter face incorrect information
We'll also be running in-person training in Christchurch and Auckland in October so check out our events calendar for the training near you.
All the details are on the Events Calendar