English Language Partners New Zealand
9 April 2009
New name for ESOL Home Tutors
At ESOL Home Tutors' Annual General Meeting, held in Wellin
gton, 4 April 2009, the organisation's 22 member incorporated societies voted unanimously to adopt the new name ‘English Language Partners New Zealand'.
The new name will be officially launched on 15 May at the association's annual conference in Auckland.
The national name change is the first for the organisation in over thirty years.
The decision to change to English Language Partners was made after a year-long review of the organisation's former name, ESOL Home Tutors.
Research into public and stakeholder perceptions revealed a range of shortcomings.
"The organisation undertakes a diverse range of activities with migrants, refugees and the volunteers and paid teachers supporting them," said Claire Szabo, CEO of English Language Partners New Zealand.
"While the work of our 3,000 volunteer ESOL home tutors is still very important right throughout the country, this is now only one portion of our work and identity."
"The organisation has considered 
where its future potential lies. Equipping migrants and refugees with English language will continue to be an essential service, but the ways we do that are constantly being updated," said Ms Szabo.
"It's volunteers, paid teachers, technology-based solutions, but it's also increasingly support for workplaces and industry."
"Partners is a word that the organisation borrowed from its own UNESCO prize-winning volunteer training programme ‘Partners in Learning'."
"However, in our current context, it also refers to partnerships with ethnic communities, government, tangata whenua and with employers."