Delivering community engagement

The latest edition of the Kowanyama News has landed in Far North Queensland. The Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council's (KASC) leadership team works closely with Zakazukha to write, design, and produce content for its colourful bi-monthly newsletter, which captures the latest news and project updates from across the region. The physical hardcopy provides a timeless, visual and tactile experience for its readership.

See the May 2022 edition of the Kowanyama News here -


kowanyama.qld.gov.au/News May 2022
A key community engagement initiative, this latest edition featured local stories from the KASC project and team managers who are working collaboratively on projects with residents and traditional custodians that involve local issues and events. Leading the news in this edition was the story of the Kowanyama Rangers as they prepare for the upcoming fire season with carbon burning on Oriners-Sefton country, a cultural and environmentally significant initiative. The Rangers team were shown the skills required to safely manage fires in the late dry season, combining scientific and cultural knowledge with practical tips for success. Coinciding with this was the release of a new mobile app that has been developed by the regional council through funding to assist the Rangers with their work in the field, and which the Council was excited to share with their community and traditional custodians. In today's digital world, community newsletters are most often driven via email, but in more remote areas, your key audiences and stakeholders simply may not have regular access to the internet or a computer. In these instances, your community still needs and has the right to know what is going on. Whether it's a new infrastructure project or a school dance, information sharing is key to supporting people in regional and rural areas, where distance between towns can be vast. The value then of creating and publishing a print (rather than digital) newsletter is clearly the best way to deliver content that interests your community directly to them. This kind of activity is an investment by your organisation to help your residents and ensure they feel connected.

Writing and photography
Developing and delivering the Kowanyama News is always a fun project for the team at Zakazukha to work on, as we create the stories from team updates and interviews by phone and email with locals who are closer to the action. Our team of copywriters gathers the necessary information and kicks their writing skills into gear to turn a good yarn into a great one that can be shared with the local community. Images are incredibly important to a newsletter's ability to showcase an organisation's projects and events in a manner that effectively gets through to the people it is aiming to reach. People in communities the world over like to see themselves, their family, friends and colleagues in those photos, as the shared experience of work and play is what is so relevant to rural and regional communities.

Events and entertainment
No matter the cause you are promoting, it can't be all business and no fun events, shows and other fun and interesting gatherings are the kinds of social opportunities that are important to showcase. The Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council support numerous social events such as the Kowanyama Rodeo through funding and training opportunities.

Community Building
As we said earlier, communities are built around shared interests and communication. The Kowanyama News gives the Council the opportunity to direct the conversation and keep the community in the loop with what's happening within the region. The importance of engaging your community with interesting, valuable and relevant information through a newsletter cannot be overstated. Newsletters give your organisation a strong, direct connection with your readership, helping you engage community members, spread awareness and maintain relationships.

Newsletter production services
Zakazukha provides project management for a range of print and online publications and across a range of channels and styles. We can offer your organisation strategic and creative ways to get your stories delivered through emails newsletters or printed hard copies and into the hands or desktops of your communities wherever they may be. We have established effective relationships with local governments and community organisations and bring the full marketing and communications mix to the table when delivering projects for our clients. Work with Zakazukha to get your organisation the attention it deserves!

Call or email us today.