Ahu whakamuatanga/Māori advancement

How can Māori in tertiary education work with whānau, hapū, iwi and Māori groups to assist them to realise their aspirations?

More often than not public debate about Māori advancement focuses on the settling of Treaty claims and the business dealings of tribal and Māori organisations rather than the central place of education. In the words of a prominent Māori educator, “we are preoccupied with squabbling over trees and fish and neglecting mātauranga which is the core of everything.”

Māori generally understand the importance of education to achieving their development goals and many have successfully engaged with existing providers or established their own private training establishments. An example of tertiary and iwi/Māori alignment includes a joint initiative between Tainui, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and Wintec where tauira Māori have the opportunity to complete a modern apprenticeship in carpentry and CPIT has deliberately aligned itself with the achievement of Ngāi Tahu’s cultural strategy.

Hana O’Regan is the Dean of Te Puna Wānaka at CPIT and ideally placed to be our keynote speaker on the theme ‘Ahu Whakamuatanga – Māori/Iwi advancement’ at Tuia Te Ako,

This is a two way process between iwi/Māori and tertiary educators. I strongly encourage iwi representatives to come to Tuia Te Ako to give meaningful effect to the kōrero for the benefit of Ngāi Tātau.

Registration for the hui closes Friday 5 August 2010 you can register online at www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/tuiateako