From Cultural to Economic Capital: Community Employment Creation in Otara

Abstract

This paper stresses the need for community responses to the ethnic unemployment problem in New Zealand. It aims to show the potential for direct employment creation on the basis of a community entrepreneurship model as well as a widened definition of human capital, using case study of the labour market disadvantaged community of Otara, in South Auckland. Projects harnessing cultural and ethnic riches to create Otara as an attractive visitor destination undertaken by Enterprise Otara (EO) are examined. A participatory research methodology, chiefly formative evaluation is used. ·This paper seeks to break down a prevalent view that grassroots responses to unemployment are necessarily small-scale ventures and to get away from the 'small is beautiful' mind-set when Local Employment Initiatives (ILEs) are involved. Additionally, the collaborative role of 'outsiders ' in the 'bottom-up' approach to employment creation is shown to be important in 'getting things moving ' at the community level. Constraints faced by community organisations are highlighted. The importance of ILEs and the partnership concept in the mitigation of high unemployment in disadvantaged communities, is affirmed.