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Five councils advance their Welcoming Communities Accreditation
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is delighted to announce that five councils and their respective communities have officially received accreditation in the Welcoming Communities programme — Te Waharoa ki ngā Hapori.
Hamilton City and Queenstown Lakes District Councils have successfully attained stage 2 with “Established Welcoming Community” accreditation, whereas Tauranga City, Palmerston North City, and Ashburton District Councils are the first councils in the programme to have reached stage 3 as an “Advanced Welcoming Community”.
Accreditation for this programme has 4 stages::
- Stage 1 — a Committed Welcoming Community
- Stage 2 — an Established Welcoming Community
- Stage 3 — an Advanced Welcoming Community
- Stage 4 — an Excelling Welcoming Community.
The Welcoming Communities Standard for New Zealand sets the benchmark for what a successful welcoming community looks like. Member councils involve local residents and newcomers in developing and implementing Welcoming Plans to meet the Standard’s outcomes and work towards greater economic, social, civic and cultural success.
Accreditation formally recognises that a council and community have met the Standard’s outcomes. It sets the community apart as being intentionally welcoming and a place where everyone can belong and flourish.
The five councils have demonstrated they value and welcome newcomers. Through accreditation they have been able to assess and reflect on their progress and improve their welcoming practices, building their ability to attract, support and retain newcomers.