On Saturday 12 August, the Wellington NCWNZ office hosted a “governance for non-profit organisations” training. This was a new initiative, designed to support candidates to apply for the NCWNZ Aspiring Board member role.*

The seven participants were individual members or from NCWNZ affiliated organisations, and the grant from Lotteries MDF which has provided other governance training for NCWNZ enabled us to pay for them all to travel to Wellington for the day. The training was facilitated by Sandy Thompson from LEAD, who has been working with us for over a year now.

The Board of NCWNZ and participants at the governance training day.

The focus of the training was about the key functions of boards. Participants learned the importance of NGOs in democracy, the value added by having a board in an organisation, and the main responsibilities that come with the board. The training gave useful tips on how to manage responsibilities and take decisions while defending values. The atmosphere was welcoming, very friendly, and at times very loud, as they learnt from each other’s experiences of volunteering in an organisation.

Team exercise: How hard can it be to put this small pole on the ground?

After a studious morning followed by shared kai, it was time to get to know more about NCWNZ and each other. This included team exercises using the iconic Stuff online quiz (finding that instructions were unclear so different teams did different quizzes) and manipulating wooden poles. There was also a presentation and discussion about NCWNZ, and the opportunity to watch Nina Santos’s video that she sent from Paris (Nina is the current Aspiring Board member). The final session role modelled good governance behaviour by gathering feedback and having an evaluation of the day.

Rayane Al Faraj, our new intern Board administrator, attended the day despite it being her fourth day in the country! Her comment about the day was “it was a great day, very enriching and fun. This session was a great opportunity for different people that have the same interests to meet in a convivial way. We all learned a lot from each other’s experience. It also permitted to help us to get tools to achieve our ambitions and gain experience.”

* The Aspiring Board member role is for someone with little or no governance experience, and the post was created by NCWNZ members for the purpose of providing women with the opportunity to gain such experience. It is a one-year appointed position in a Board governance role with full rights and responsibilities, while being supported by the other Board members.

To read more articles from The Circular (July-August 2023) issue 642, click on the tag below.