I started my internship with Diversityworks last Thursday morning. Like a professional, I arrived 35 minutes late, slightly winded, and sweaty. A GREAT first impression. (Note to any new interns, account for everything that could possibly go wrong when estimating time, and then double it. )
About Diversityworks:
Diversityworks is a New Zealand-based enterprise whose business arm provides specialist services in managing diversity and change, and whose not-for-profit arm works to improve diversity and professional participation in the arts.
Diversityworks Group, the business arm, is an eclectic mix of entrepreneurial leadership, consulting and performing. Managing Director Philip Patston is a New Zealand Social Entrepreneur Fellow, consultant, mentor, coach, team facilitator and motivational speaker for hire. He has also been a social worker, a counsellor, a Winston Churchill Fellow, a human rights activist, an award-winning comedian, a soap opera actor on Shortland Street, a columnist, a trainer and even New Zealand’s inaugural Queer of the Year as voted by TV show Queer Nation.
Diversityworks Trust, established in 2005, promotes community development and economic participation, with an emphasis on artistic and creative processes. The trust’s current strategic objectives consist of promoting diversity in the creative sector, assisting people to gain confidence & skills in order to fulfill their potential, and creating connections, networks and income sources to develop the business of the trust.
The Trust’s first major project was Momentum’09, an international creative diversity symposium to held in Auckland in February 2009. The Trust also intends projects to support families of high-risk young people who are failing in mainstream education; and to improve relationships between disabled people and those upon whom they rely for their basic and well-being needs. The trust is made up of trustees Carol Waterman (chair), Ronelle Baker, Wharetatao King, Jeanine Gribbin, Jeremy Patston, and Philip Patston.
About my internship:
I will be working closely with Philip Patston for the duration of my internship. I will be working from his home in addition to shadowing him as he attends various meetings and tends to various clients.
My daily duties will be determined as we go, but some tasks could include: doing research, forming marketing strategies, reading up on important concepts and tutorials on creative thinking, attending meetings, giving feedback on project language and public communications. Internship projects could include research, program development, creative thinking, and innovative marketing for Diversityworks and its programs. Areas of focus may include exploring the relationship between spirituality and entrepreneurship, marketing social diversity to a mainstream audience in new ways, designing a different language to sell to the media which will replace the emotional language currently used to “sell” news involving individuals with disabilities, and helping work to develop a virtual movement of creative diversity with the intent and purpose of creating social change (for example, developments with website and blog design).
My favorite part of the discussion Philip and I had was the discussion of how my work will be evaluated. Together, we decided that my performance (and the internship’s structure) will be evaluated through a developmental evaluation process, which is a method I will be researching more thoroughly as one of my tasks. One of my goals to achieve by the end of the internship will be to develop my own “big idea,” or mission, which articulates what interests me in entrepreneurship and under which all my efforts fall.
My first impressions:
Despite my embarrassing start, I had a fantastic first day. I met some of the people Philip works with and we discussed my internship. On Friday, I attended a meeting for the Presbyterian Support Northern Quality Council. It was really fascinating. The group is made up of both internal members of PSN and external representatives of each of the populations PSN serves (Maori, pacific islanders, individuals with disabilities, the elderly, etc). The group meets twice a year to talk about PSN’s service quality and how to evaluate and improve its services.
One of the most interesting parts for me was a discussion on how PSN could better serve the Maori population, and a movement it is making in relations to its identity as an organization. Previously, the company called itself a “bi-cultural” organization. Recently, it has changed its position because they said they are not bi-cultural, but offer bi-cultural services. In order to be a truly bi-cultural organization, the company would have to be co-owned by both Pakeha (new Zealanders of European descent) and the Maori, which it is not.
Joe, PSN’s Maori representative and a member of their leadership team, made valid and insightful observations on the importance of developing relationships with iwi social services in the area, as opposed to recruiting Maori to “look the part.” He said that the transition and discussion PSN is having about its identity is a new conversation and that people, both non maori and maori are excited about it.
It is amazing what just a name or the phrasing in a contract can mean. It goes back to the Treaty of Waitangi and how much emphasis is put on the interpretation of that document. But at the heart, it is about more than a title, it is about “what does this title mean?” and breaking it down, because that is when you can really get to the heart of an identity. And understanding personal identity is vital before developing successful relations with others.
After that meeting, Philip, Anna (a co worker who I watched jump from the sky tower on Saturday!), and I all went to see a comedian, Tim Minchen , speak at an arts festival. He was pretty awesome. Philip saw his full show and said he was wonderful.
Philip is an amazing person and already an inspiration to me. He cares deeply about his work and bringing about social change through innovative approaches. And he has an uncanny way of putting people at ease. A meeting I attended with him and a co-worker who was feeling stressed about her position showed me how Philip is able to instill confidence in those he works with and how he can clearly communicate what is important so as to remove unnecessary worries. I look forward to learning more from him over the next few months.
Other things this week:
Starting classes and my internship were the most exciting things that happened this week. I did meet my new kiwi friends at the beach on Saturday, and then later for drink and to go out saturday night. That was a lot of fun. Then today after a long day in the library, I headed out to Albert Park to do a bit of dancing at one of the summer concerts in the park events. I met some pretty cool spanish and japanese raggae fans, they were awesome. Yea, more later.
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