Te mahi ngātahi me te iwi Māori - Our work with and for Māori

Ngahiwi Apanui, our kaihautu Māori, brings an update on recent activities.

It has been a busy end of 2010 and beginning to 2011. Some robust and lively discussion has marked the beginning of 2011 for Te Rūnanga Māori – the Ako Aotearoa Māori Caucus. The outcome has been the approval of important documents that will shape our work with Māori stakeholders over the next three years: Te Hīkoi Whakamua – The Ako Aotearoa Māori Strategy 2010–2013, He Takohanga Whakaaro – the Tuia Te Ako proceedings, and Te Tuku Karere – our Māori Communications Plan.

Te Hīkoi Whakamua

The Ako Aotearoa Māori Strategy 2010–2013 was approved in December 2010. The draft was prepared in June 2010 after a round of strategic visits to Māori tertiary educators and put to the Tuia Te Ako Māori Tertiary Hui in August 2010. The feedback from the hui confirmed the general direction and themes of the plan, and a final draft was put to Te Rūnanga Māori, which they subsequently approved.

Information gathered in meetings in 2009 and 2010 with Māori in the tertiary sector was critical to the development of Te Hīkoi Whakamua. This information is essential in order for Ako Aotearoa to shape programmes that support Māori educators and learners, so that we address the needs of Māori in the various parts of the tertiary sector. This year I have already had the pleasure of meeting with staff from Te Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, Unitec and Western Institute of Technology Taranaki and look forward to meeting with many more groups in the coming months.

Tuia Te Ako update

The hui-planning committee will be meeting this month to kick-start the planning for the next Tuia Te Ako hui. The event is planned for early 2012 and it is expected a date will be announced following this meeting. The committee is keen to take the learning from Tuia Te Ako 2010 to make this forthcoming hui even better. We will keep you updated with developments as the planning gets under way.

We are also excited to announce the release of He Takohanga Whakaaro, the proceedings of Tuia Te Ako 2010. The proceedings feature transcripts of the keynote presentations filled with valuable information and insights, as well as summaries of the workshop feedback from delegates and photos from the two days.

All hui delegates, sponsors, key Māori organisations, and other stakeholders will receive a hardcopy of He Takohanga Whakaaro and it can be downloaded.

Tui, tui, tuituia!

A primary source for content relating to Māori in the tertiary sector

Te Tuku Karere - our Māori Communications Plan - lays the pathway for the development of our work to support Māori in the tertiary sector, drawing on input from Māori stakeholders to shape that work. Te Rūnanga Māori is keen to ensure that with all that we do in this area, we continue to focus on sharing kaupapa Māori with all parts of the sector.

One of the tools we consider pivotal to our communication with and support for Māori stakeholders is the Ako Aotearoa website. There are three key areas for Māori on the site:

1. our work with Māori educators and learners
2. Mātauranga Māori content for the resource centre
3. Tuia Te Ako community space.

At present, we are working on a project to develop a guide that will improve the accessibility of Mātauranga Māori content in the resource centre. Part of this project will involve identifying additional resources relevant to Mātauranga Māori that will be of value to practitioners and learners.