Key UC Contact
What We Did
Each year, UC’s journalism programme has collaborated with community partners on a storytelling project aimed at building community connections and resources (often to support under-represented and marginalised groups). In 2019, we worked with the Selwyn District Council to profile residents from diverse backgrounds and settlement experiences, with the aims of building an information resource for new migrants, helping longer-term residents connect with newcomers, and showcasing the region’s increasing diversity.
Who Was Involved
Department of Media and Communication journalism programme, Selwyn District Council and various Selwyn residents and businesses who were profiled: Mere Porima, Ayyam O’Brien, Gabi Michael (Gladfield Malt), Tina De La Cruz, Colette Benjamin (Selwyn Connect), Angelica McCormick, Reza Zamekabi, Surinder Tandon (Tandon Textile Innovations & Christchurch Multicultural Council).
Why It Matters
Originally, the project began in 2013 with stories about residents’ recovery following the Canterbury earthquakes, and aimed to contribute to community connection and engagement, resilience and recovery by building and strengthening community relationships through personal stories (it was inspired by research about post-disaster renewal, which indicated that social capital and social networks were key to community resilience). The project also aimed to build relationships between budding journalists and the communities on whom they report, and to improve trust in news media, which has been declining over many years.
Learn More
The 2019 project stories are hosted on the Selwyn District Council website (and have been added to by one of our graduates, who was employed to continue with the storytelling project): www.selwyn.govt.nz/community/faces-of-selwyn
Photo Caption:
Tara Ross (University of Canterbury), Sam Broughton (Selwyn District Council mayor), Surinder Tandon, Hayley Tate (former UC journalism student) Colette Benjamin, Ayyam O'Brien
