The weekend of 23 and 24 March is a chance to celebrate Neighbours Day Aotearoa – a day to focus on getting to know your neighbours.
Neighbours Day, launched in 2009, is a national campaign to get all Kiwis spending at least one weekend of the year getting to know their neighbours better.
Auckland Council is right behind the vision of “turning streets into neighbourhoods” and encourages everyone to get involved either by hosting a neighbourhood activity, or even just by popping heads over fences and saying hello. A cup of tea shared between neighbours can start a better connection, which can build a relationship that flourishes all year round.
Getting to know your neighbours can also help to make your neighbourhood a safer place to live, play and work.
Mayor Len Brown says: “Communities are more than street names or postcodes, they are people. Our relationship with our neighbours can play a big part in making our day to day lives better and in turn making Auckland a wonderful city to live in.
“I am excited to see what people will come up with this year. Last year, I enjoyed dropping by several Neighbours Day initiatives, with groups who had a lot of fun while forging ties and working together to keep their streets tidy and safe.
“Great cities are built on strong, resilient communities who can turn to each other in times of crisis and celebrate together in the good times”.
If you want to you can create your own activity, you can – for inspiration head to www.neighboursday.org.nz , sign up and download some ideas and tools that you think would work best for your street.
There are some great activities planned around Auckland this Neighbours Day from street BBQs to treasure hunts to community garden open days. Auckland Council Local Boards are backing Neighbours Day by supporting events in their local communities. There might be something already happening in your area; find out by checking Auckland Council’s website www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/events search-word, Neighbours Day.
If you do decide to host your own activity check out the range of parks, beaches and community facilities available for your event on our parks, leisure and culture homepage http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/ParksLeisureCulture/Pages/Home.aspx
