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Workshop facilitators and participants
The New Zealand Office of the Ombudsman (OOTO) held a two day in person workshop for Ombudsman and integrity institutions in the Pacific region, supported by a subsidy from the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI). The workshop, which built on previous content delivered online, provided current and emerging leaders and senior investigators with the skills required to mentor, train and coach their people.
Participants came from the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Kiribati and New Zealand to attend the two day workshop in Suva, Fiji in March. It was co-facilitated by OOTO and a representative from the Victorian Ombudsman, the current Australasian and Pacific (APOR) Regional President.
Victorian Ombudsman and APOR president Deborah Glass welcomed workshop participants saying she was pleased they had been able to meet in person. “I encourage you to take full advantage of this opportunity to learn and grow, network with your colleagues, and to share your experiences,” she said.
The exchange of ideas and discussion about the different practices between offices proved valuable throughout the highly interactive and engaging workshop. Participants said that the workshop cemented learnings from the online sessions and they were now better equipped to mentor, train, and coach staff and facilitate meetings more effectively.
There was also a general consensus among participants that they had learnt a thing or two from each other about the practices in their offices and what they could take back to their own. Things like having their office’s vision and mission on display (from the Cook Islands), investigations skills (from Victoria), assigning a trainee to a particular mentor (from OOTO), and media outreach ideas (from Tonga and the Cook Islands).
Source: The New Zealand Office of the Ombudsman
