4
July 2005 Meeting of the Forbes Arts & Culture Working Group
held at the Concourse, Forbes Town Hall, 5.30-7pm.
Apologies: Jo Erskine, Sian Prior, Denise Sheridan-Smith,
Marg Willmott
Attendance:
Graeme Miller, Alison Lockhart, Helen Hurley, Kylie Grayson, Sue-anne
Nixon, Elaine Imrie, Bronwyn Clark, Merrill Findlay.
This
meeting was chaired by Sue-anne Nixon
Acceptance
of minutes
Motion: That the minutes of the last meeting be accepted, with the
following amendments: that comments containing value judgements
in the SWOT analysis be deleted and the phrase ‘adopted by
Council’ be changed to ‘presented to Council’.
Moved:
Kylie
Seconded: Sue-anne
Carried.
MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
1. Survey form
Kylie reported on the process of writing the copy and designing
the public consultation survey
form with Sian and Jo, and presented the final draft of the
form. The form will go to the printers as soon as our sponsor, Forbes
Shire Council, has approved the costings etc. Print run to be 3.500-4,000.
Kylie and Merrill will facilitate the printing and letter drop to
all households in the Shire, and ensure that the suggestions made
at previous meetings re. distribution and promotion are followed,
including having the form in pew slips in all churches, and sending
copies to service organisations to fill in at meetings. Cr Graeme
Miller will ensure that all Councillors fill in the form. Sue-anne
will deliver forms to the schools and other venues.
2.
Collection boxes
Sue-anne presented an example of the collection boxes she has constructed
and delivered to key sites around town for people to return their
survey forms. She will empty the boxes before the next meeting on
1 August.
3.
Media strategy
Kylie has drafted a press
release for The Advocate and other media as part of our media
campaign to encourage people to fill out the form. The meeting suggested
we set up a photo opportunity for the local press of Sue-anne with
the collection boxes, for example.
4.
Helen’s concerns
Helen came to the meeting to express her objections to some of the
issues raised in the last newsletter and the minutes. Merrill explained
that we can all expect to disagree with many of the issues raised
during the public consultation process, because the Working Group
is committed to ensuring that all groups in the community are consulted,
and that their views and ideas are represented in the final document
we produce. A number of participants agreed that we can expect further
controversy as people express their personal views, and as we explore
the different meanings of the word ‘culture’. People
are very welcome to attend the meetings to articulate their concerns
and will be keenly listened to. Merrill emphasised that ideas expressed
in the newsletter do not necessarily reflect the opinions of all
members of the Working Group, but are included to provoke fresh
thinking about Forbes’ future, to promote cultural activities
and opportunities, and to educate readers about cultural development
and cultural planning issues. We agreed that we would not include
'value judgements' in the SWOT analysis or other documents.
5.
The future of the working group
While many people support the working group no-one wants to accept
the responsibility of being the convener at this stage. Merrill
therefore reluctantly agreed to continue to perform the role of
interim convener! The meeting did, however, unanimously elect Kylie
Grayson as the Working Group’s first Secretary.
Motion:
that Kylie Grayson become the Working Group’s note taker/secretary.
Moved: Sue-Anne
Seconded: Merrill
Carried unanimously.
SWOT
ANALYSIS
The meeting continued the ongoing SWOT analysis of the Forbes Shire,
from a cultural perspective, with Helen Hurley as the scribe. See
the full list with all the new additions
>>.
Additions
to the analysis from this meeting are:
Strengths
Art gallery
Town singers/choirs
Wisdom of senior citizens
Town band
The two craft centres
Conservatorium
Eisteddford
Jazz festival
Heritage festival
Hundreds of volunteers: ‘Forbes would stop without its volunteer
workers’
College of Seniors
Range of aged care amenities
Clubs – Probis, VIEW, Rotary etc
Relatively small size of the shire which makes it ‘intimate’
Half-way between Melbourne/Brisbane
Dancing – many dance groups (ballroom, jazz, ballet, line-dancing,
etc)
Oppportunities
Calender of weekly/monthly – promotion of what is happening
and what is available
Ben hall festival
Rose festival in September
12 hours by road to 80-85% of Australia’s population
Weaknesses
People not informed of events and what is happening
General apathy (or contentment?)
Please
note: this list is being added to at each meeting. People can also
email their own
additions to the SWOT analysis to [email protected]
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