President’s Message
September 2026
We have a busy time coming up. Remember that October and November are renewal months, and that our November meeting is also our Annual General Meeting (with a speaker as usual and an end of year function to follow). We need a new President, a new Secretary, (either now or in six months), and one or two new committee members.
The renewals process will be different this year, since, at this month’s meeting the committee agreed that the renewal forms will not be used. To renew you will simply pay your subscription, which will be the same as this year, viz $40. Please note, do not resubscribe before October, please.
The Winter Series concluded on August 21st. All three speakers were stimulating and informative and those who attended found the series very worthwhile.
Next year the Winter Series is likely to be advertised that it is possible to book for one or two sessions. As well, the date may be changed to June.
At our monthly meeting on August 17th, our mini speakers were the Foodie group and Wine Studies. If the stars had been better aligned, we would have sampled gourmet delights with matching wines, but, even without that, the talks were much appreciated. Thanks to the presenters and to Miles Shepheard who is short talks organiser. Chris Hawley then introduced his new group “Our Southeast Asian Neighbours” and Vivianne Child introduced a potential new book group, “Bring, Buy, Swap, Discuss”.
After morning tea, we heard from our main speaker, Keith Woodley, manager of the Pukorokoro shorebird centre at Miranda. We heard lots of fascinating information about migratory shorebirds, such as the fact that Godwit chicks are abandoned after hatching and despite this fly nearly non-stop across the Pacific four months later. Proposed land reclamation of the Yalu Jiang Estuary Wetland which threatened the resting places of a large number of shorebirds travelling on the Australasian flyway led Keith to look at the numbers of birds utilising tidal flats nearby in North Korea. His stories about this project were fascinating. It was great to hear about the shorebirds and the flyway and bird counting in North Korea and to meet someone so dedicated to such a worthwhile project.
John Goodman
How We Operate
Monthly Meetings
At our monthly meetings we get together to listen to a speaker of note. These people are chosen from a wide variety of backgrounds – historians, social scientists, representatives of voluntary organisations, scientists from a wide variety of backgrounds, and from many other disciplines. We also have updates from representatives from our interest groups and from time to time hear from other community representatives to give a short update on their activities
Interest Groups
We currently have many interest groups covering a wide variety of activities. Activities include a number of walking groups, reading groups, a memoir writing group, musical interest groups history and wine studies groups and many others. The complete list can be seen on the Interest groups page. From time to time we have new groups formed, and others cease their activity
Newsletter
Our monthly newsletter is our main means of communication with our members. Most of our members received their newsletters by email. We also post newsletters covering the last two years on our website for those interested in our activities. The website is updated monthly to ensure the most recent newsletters are always available.
Interest Groups
are the heart of U3A Meadowbank.
Our Interest Groups are the key to learning in more depth about a wide variety of topics and activities. They are at the heart of what U3A is all about and we strongly encourage all of our members to actively participate in at least one group. We also welcome ideas about new areas of study or activity from our members
We are a part of a Global Network
U3A is a global movement encouraging mature people to keep their minds active and share their knowledge. It began in France in 1972 as a means of enabling older achievers to continue learning and share their knowledge under the banner “University of the Third Age”. The movement spread widely throughout Europe.
In 1981, U3A reached the United Kingdom, which developed a model based on peer-to-peer learning, away from academia. This same approach was adopted in Australia and New Zealand. The first U3A in New Zealand was U3A Remuera, established in 1989. U3A St Heliers followed in 1992. There are now over 80 U3As in New Zealand, including 27 in the Auckland region. Further Information can be found on www.u3a.nz.
We are part of a local Network
Each U3A association is autonomous, organising its own programme, governance and affairs, but adhering to the principles on which U3A was founded. In summary, these are the guidelines that shape our activities and collegiality.
- Learning and teaching are mutually enhancing. We are all learners and teachers and are encouraged to be actively engaged in discovery, discussion, research and exploration of topics of collective interest.
- We are all recognised as having something of value to bring to the Association. We acknowledge the wisdom and depth of experience that members bring and the potential for new learning and new challenges as we age.
- All of our work is voluntary – no one gets paid for their services (except perhaps a koha for outside speakers). Leadership is shared and rotated, so no-one holds on to office beyond an allotted term.
- There are no admission requirements other than paying the annual membership fee. No entry qualifications are required, no award or recognition given of learning undertaken.