by Catherine Griffiths
The following update to members was also posted on Instagram and Facebook by Cathy Veninga, CEO, The Designers Institute of New Zealand:
Public Forum: New Date To Be Advised
There has been a conversation on social media and within the design community on the importance of diverse and inclusive representation in our industry. We are planning to consult and discuss this topic with the design community through a public forum to help determine the best way to effect change and move forward as a collective.
In July, we proposed a public forum for August 30 to allow everyone the opportunity to air their views and contribute ideas with an independent facilitator to lead the discussion.
We are working to engage the right facilitator, but our 30 August date has proven to be too tight to be able to confirm a commitment. Regrettably we have to postpone our plans for the forum until we have secured the best facilitator.
We will update you as soon as we can and send an invitation once we have a new date. We understand this delay is not ideal and appreciate your patience as we work through this process.
If you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to email me at cathy.veninga@dinz.org.nz.
Cathy Veninga – CEO
Our response — useful to consider that the issue, amongst others, is the iconic 40–3 statistic, which after twenty years, suggests there may be a governance or constitution issue. While a public forum organised by DINZ and led by the “right” or “best” facilitator could be the start of a solution, an independent professional audit would discover exactly where processes have gone dreadfully astray.