Waitaki residents will next week get a progress report on how close the district is to joining a rare group of internationally recognised communities.
The Safer Waitaki Coalition is attempting to gain accreditation as an International Safe Community, and an international assessor from the World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre in Stockholm will arrive in Oamaru on Thursday to provide details on what needs to be done to gain the status.
To date, only 22 communities in New Zealand have attained the status.
Waitaki District Council community safety and development facilitator Helen Algar said the visit would allow for further community input into the project.
"The Safer Waitaki Coalition has undertaken a significant amount of work during the past six months. This work has included substantive community research and analysis, both community and youth-focused.
"There has also been development of some key projects."
The International Safe Communities Network was set up by WHO in 1989, and Safe Communities Foundation New Zealand director Carolyn Coggan said although accreditation did not mean a place was perfectly safe, it did mean a community had systems in place to address safety issues.
"Accreditation by the International Safe Communities Network formalises Waitaki's commitment to doing all it can to create the safest possible communities for those who live, work or visit the district.
"By becoming an accredited member, Waitaki District can not only share the lessons they've learnt but they can tap into a global peer group for ideas and information."
