Get involved in the conversation

Vanessa van Uden

It's your future.

This month, there are a couple of dates that I really urge you to put in your diary.

I am inviting you to try something new.

I'm talking about a new way to get involved over important issues for our community.

Conversations about really key subjects take place in all kinds of places - the aisle of the supermarket, the bowling green, at preschool, over coffee - and everyone has got an opinion on most things.

Well, let's hear them.

For several months now, I have been working with members of our community on a new way to give people a voice.

It's in the shape of public forums called Shape our Future and I hope it will become a regular way of building consensus for life in the Lakes district.

Shaping our Future is a partnership-led initiative starting with the Queenstown Lakes District Council, Wanaka and Queenstown Chambers of Commerce, Lake Wanaka Tourism and Destination Queenstown.

It now needs to grow and become a partnership with all sectors of the community.

What we collectively put into these discussions will shape what we get out of them.

How we implement the outcomes needs to be viewed in the context of both today and tomorrow, our future.

All levels of participation are welcome, even if you just come to listen and observe or whether you have a point of view you want to share.

All opinions will be valued.

Regardless of the subject, there are some things I want these two-hour forums to achieve.

I want them to be accessible to everyone. It's an open invitation to the entire community and I want them to be timely, to the point and real.

There are many important issues in our community.

To get the ball rolling, a 30-person group representative of the district-wide community began the conversation by agreeing on how the forums will work and what we should start with.

Community covers a lot of scope.

After much discussion, the group settled on two subjects that have been raised over the last year that have implications for all.

So the first forums, which will be repeated in Queenstown and Wanaka, will focus on our economic future and the second forums will be based on events. These two topics are a pilot, and if it goes well, we will use the model to discuss other issues.

To find out more about the project, go to the website www.shapingourfuture.org.nz.

It also gives our out-of-town ratepayers a chance to have a voice.

This is a community-led process, and while the council is a partner, it will initially be very much in listening mode, therefore an independent organisation, the Centre for Sustainable Practice, is facilitating the sessions.

Finally, I'd like to add that throughout this column I talk about our community. I'm actually talking about you. Make sure you get involved in the conversation.

The Economic Future forums will take place on Tuesday, May 10, at the Lake Wanaka Centre from 4pm to 6pm and on Thursday, May 12, at the Queenstown Events Centre from 4pm to 6pm.

The Event forums will take place the following week, on May 17, at the Queenstown Events Centre, and on May 19 at Edgewater Resort, again from 4pm to 6pm.

I will see you there.