The Local Governance for Community Wellbeing Cabinet paper suggests re-introducing social, environmental, economic and cultural wellbeing back into the Local Government Act 2002. The previous government removed these local body responsibilities – putting the emphasis on basic infrastructure.

Local government New Zealand is welcoming the discussion. They think that local government has a big role to play in intergenerational wellbeing.

For the last ten years the people of Omaka Marae, in Marlborough, have been working to realise their strategic vision – Pa ora pa wānanga, Developing a centre of cultural excellence.

The core driver has been to reconnect whānau to Māori worlds through education and the sharing and creating of indigenous knowledge: formal education, informal education, children’s education, (including a recently opened primary and intermediate school), education to support a social enterprise – and of course intergenerational education.

New Zealand born Samoan Rhia Taonui spent her early years being raised by her grandparents in a village in Samoa. Today, as the Pasifika Community Liaison person at the Palmerston North City Council, Rhia draws on her early experience to carry out her role which is ‘to support evidence-based best practice approach to enable communities to lead and take action.’

It’s not just education for adults that she focuses on – it is education to meet the Pasifika community’s learning needs. This way she engages whole families and whole communities.

Kelly Francis (Ngāpuhi) started Whenua Warriors in Auckland last year. The mission – to feed, teach and empower community via maara kai. And the vision – to have a harvestable garden available to every New Zealander.

So far Whenua Warriors has established over 280 gardens in people’s backyards, papakāinga, schools, kohanga, marae, emergency houses, women’s refuges and community spaces.

By Luis Enrique Buitrago Pinz.n, Director of The Popular Arts and Trades School and Nubia Estupi..n Soler Colombia National University.

The Jaime Garzón diploma course, developed in 2014/2015, is the work of many people and social organisations including the Popular Arts and Trades School, the German Opening Horizons programme, and the National University.

The goal was to develop a programme for young people who have been historically excluded from Bogotá city.