Blog

One of the most amazing – and challenging – aspects of my innovation mahi with Tokona Te Raki is that I get to work with

Dr Eruera Tarena is the Executive Director of Tokona Te Raki: Māori Futures Collective, a Ngāi Tahu led initiative with the vision to see all rangatahi inspired by their futures, thriving in education, confident in their culture and determining their own path.

Kīngi Tāwhiao Pōtatau Te Wherowhero uttered these words to rally his people and encourage unity and forward thinking. In these times it is hard to move beyond the reactive immediate needs to raise the gaze and contemplate the future.

As I write this column I am hearing the words of economists warning on the dire consequences of the economic shock we are experiencing as a result of the global pandemic Covid-19.

This positioning paper is the first in what will be a series of papers, blogs and insights as part of our commitment to understanding innovation and systems change within a te ao Māori paradigm.

As tāngata whenua we share a vision of an Aotearoa where all our tamariki thrive in education, are confident in their culture and have the tools to navigate their life-long learning journey.

We are now one year into our journey working within the space of systems change and design thinking, and as such are constantly searching for new tools and techniques to assist us in achieving our desired outcomes.

Working as a team within an organisation seems simple…right?!