Understanding how poverty affects Queenstown Lakes residents will be the focus of a workshop in the resort at the end of the month.
Mayor Vanessa van Uden said the one-day workshop, being held on March 29, was a chance to "shine some light'' on factors influencing poverty in the district.
It is the first of a series which stemmed from the national TacklingPovertyNZ workshop, a joint initiative between the McGuinness Institute and Treasury in December.
Speakers in Queenstown will include Treasury's Dr Girol Karacaoglu and Dame Diane Robertson, the former chief executive of the Auckland City Mission and now chairwoman of the Data Futures Partnership.
They and six others who participated in last year's national workshop will speak ahead of the morning session in Queenstown to provide a national context for local discussions.
Ms van Uden said factors influencing poverty could include housing, income, jobs, isolation, education and transport.
"If we can identify what the issues of poverty are here, then we can have an informed discussion about what we as a community can do, in partnership with the Government,'' she said.
The afternoon session would focus on the challenges and opportunities facing the community, with proposals for local solutions to be presen-ted at a public event at 6pm at the Queenstown Memorial Centre.
