WHAT IS U3A?

U3A Tawa Inc is part of a loose but nation-wide organization that originated in France then quickly spread to the UK many years ago. It came to New Zealand in 1989. Broadly, it seeks to provide a low cost social learning focus for people not in full time employment. See www.u3a.nz for more details.

U3A Tawa was established in 1995 with a huge hand-up from Tawa Rotary. Our membership is mainly centred on Tawa but we have members from Porirua, Johnsonville, and many other areas.

Those U3A groups nearest to actual universities can and do benefit from having guest speakers delivering single lectures to large groups. Those in smaller locations proceed in their own special way as agreed by the members from time to time. Here in Tawa we have a pragmatic course-design model where members suggest, devise and run daytime courses and activities, often in members’ homes or local venues. Generally, if it sounds interesting U3A Tawa will give it a go, assigning a venue as numbers dictate. Sizes range from 50 down to a mere handful. Many of our larger courses have run for several years and these have been routinely modified in the light of experience. Others have been one-offs.

Accordingly our U3A Tawa motto is The Community Educating the Community.   

Every effort goes into making courses relevant, interesting and accurate. However, the overall aim is to make U3A a valued community organization where people get to make new friends and share what they have and know in countless numbers of ways.

WHAT IT COSTS (NOT A LOT)

A current annual membership costs $15 p.a. (less than three cups of good coffee).
There are no course fees as such but the costs of any resources and external venues used are shared by the course participants. We have some amazingly supportive bodies in our community and these include several of Tawa’s churches, The Tawa Community Centre, local businesses and Tawa Library. Any added venue costs are minimal, e.g. we do request $2 per person when we need to hire a venue.