Our Koloa cultural awareness training

We offer bespoke “Developing Cultural Competency” workshops as we understand that “competency” is a journey to understanding how best to work effectively with people of other cultures and diverse backgrounds, and that no one is every fully “competent”. We are always learning.

Cultural competence means recognising our own worldview and understanding and valuing cultural and social norms reflected in the diversity of the people we engage with through our daily lives. Culture can broadly include, but is not limited to, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religious or faith affiliation and more.

Our workshops provide participants with:

• An opportunity to gain an understanding of diverse Pacific cultural values
• An appreciation of the origins of the diverse Pacific people here in Aotearoa
• Understanding of why Pacific cultural knowledge is important to Pacific communities in the places where we live, work, and play
• Additionally, we talanoa about the differences and similarities of values, worldviews and experiences between our Pacific people who are born and raised in the Islands (now living and working here in Aotearoa) and NZ born Pacific peoples.

Our Cultural Competency Training workshops are ideally targeted at non-Pacific people and/or workplaces that have Pacific employees, or peoples & organisations that work with Pacific people and their wider communities.

The workshop is offered in a safe environment designed to give participants some practical examples of how to engage Pacific people effectively in the workplace and their communities through the work that they do.

Our bespoke Koloa cultural awareness training

Our bespoke Koloa courses provide an opportunity for deeper learning. We begin with an introduction to key concepts which are essential for successful engagement with Pacific clients and communities, businesses and organisations. Then we customise the programme, which is a facilitated Talanoa to deep-dive into what cultural competency means within your organisation, and how your team is going to respond.

Each dedicated course is short, but packed with relevant information to help develop skills and confidence. Some of the things you’re likely to learn include formal greetings, acknowledgements, blessings and farewells in professional contexts.

Following the course, you’ll have a better understanding of how to create a diverse and inclusive environment, and of your corporate social responsibility. We’ll also cover things like developing and maintaining customer relationships, enhanced staff induction, personal professional development, as well as motivation and engagement.