Ākona – tō mātou kaupapa ako

-

Ākona – our learning programme

As an elected member, you need a broad range of complex skills if you are going to provide strong and effective governance.

But it’s unlikely you will have much time for long, involved training courses or events.

That’s where Ākona comes in. It’s your one-stop shop for local government guidance that’s been designed following months of research, learning design, best practice expertise and comprehensive member feedback.

Ākona provides ‘bite-sized’ learning modules, easily digestible and delivered in ways that allow you to learn what you want, when you can, wherever you are.

• Get up to speed with council/kaunihera and governance basics
• Build skills in community engagement, strategy and asset management
• Learn how to chair meetings, use standing orders and how the Code of Conduct works
• Build your understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and tikanga
• Develop great practices for ongoing wellbeing/hauora
• Prepare for issues like emergency management and climate change

Who is Ākona designed for?

Ākona is specifically designed to support all elected members, including mayors and chairs, throughout their local government career.

New members will find Ākona an invaluable resource as they learn the ropes and get up-to-speed.

And with the ever-evolving nature of local government, experienced members will also find useful content to help them navigate the landscape and brush up on skills not used very often.

What’s on offer?

Inside our easy-to-navigate eLearning platform you will find:

• A range of e-modules
• Guidance materials
• Ako hours (one-hour lunchtime Q&A webinars with subject matter experts)

Ākona is available to members via a council subscription-based service. Contact akona@lgnz.co.nz to find out more.

If your council has a subscription, you’ll have full access everything on offer from Ākona – current and future. New content is added every month on topics recommended by you.

Plus, we design and curate online and in-person workshops on any topic you or your council needs. These come at an additional cost but we work hard to keep these costs as low as possible.

Dive into continuous learning and development with Ākona.