Kia Ora e te Whanau, 

I hope everyone is keeping safe in level 3. It's still slightly unreal that we have gone from the back-end of a cranking summer to sitting on Zoom all day in pyjama bottoms in only a few short weeks. It has been really heartening to hear so many stories from our different venues who have found whole new ways to pivot and keep their teams busy in lock-down. From packing boxes for homes who are struggling, to blood drives, virus testing stations and more, it speaks of the resilience and lateral thinking our industry is famous for. Now more then ever we are reminded of our innate need for person to person contact. Our weekly webinar series is attracting upwards of 170 attendees each week, reinforcing how strong the NZ industry is with idea and info sharing and how pleasant it is to hear someone talking who is not a significant other or child….! It also reinforces the need to keep in touch, to reach out and share problems. First and foremost we are an industry of like minded peers, who are only ever a phone call away – be sure to keep reaching out even if its just to take time to reconnect with old friends and peers you haven’t had time in the pre-lockdown event madness to catch up with.

The EVANZ board is working hard in the background advocating for a set of fair and reasonable conditions when NZ moves to Level 2. It is our view that re-engaging the arts and community events industries will be vital in both the economic and wellbeing recovery of the COVID-19 crisis. We are advocating to the highest levels of government, but we continue to need your help to make our case. The government requires succinct data and information to ensure the correct cases are put forward and considered at cabinet. To ensure the papers we submit get through the noise we need to include hard facts and data about the impact our industry has felt. In the coming days Sally-Anne and the Board will be reaching out to member venues to gather a small but vital set of stats from each of you that will be aggregated up and included as a snap shot impact for government to consider. This information should be easily accessible for each of you as you continue to re-budget and re-forecast! We will not be asking for any information that is sensitive, rather snapshots on employment and  revenue etc. We have been set a very short timeframe to submit a paper so your quick participation will be very much appreciated.

In the meantime, stay safe, stay connected and keep doing great things!

Adam