Kia kaha te tū e ngā Māori o Wairaka. He karanga ki ngā ākonga Māori katoa.
Stand strong Māori of Wairaka. Calling all Māori students
Unitec’s Te Noho Kotahitanga Marae will host student representatives from across the country on 17 and 18 June 2021 at a wānanga aiming to strengthen the mana of ākonga Maori.
Revitalising Unitec’s Māori student association Mātātupu will also be a central focus in an effort to ensure the continued delivery of the right support for Māori on their journey towards reaching success in tertiary education.
Mātātupu is a student-driven association at Unitec that supports Māori students by providing a safe environment where tikanga Māori is embraced and Māori identity is fostered through student engagement, experience and success. It’s been inactive since 2018, but now Māori students are mobilising to revitalise it.
Māori Representative for the Unitec Student Council, Irene Eva Farnham says the wānanga will bring together strong and knowledgable student minds from across the country.
“This is an important forum which allows ākonga Māori to lead and guide the conversation, it gives the mana back to students and provides an opportunity to shape a better pathway forward for future generations.”
Representatives from the National Māori Students Tertiary Association, Te Mana Ākonga, will attend the hui and have committed their support to the kaupapa.
Te Mana Ākonga represents students from 14 Māori tertiary student associations and has led the charge in building collaborative networks and advocating on behalf of Māori students at a local and national level.
Irene says bringing together Māori students from across Unitec and the country to collaborate and discuss challenges they face and how to overcome them is extremely important.
“The tertiary sector and its treatment of Māori has been a longstanding issue and providing a forum for Māori students to speak their truth and focus on their needs and concerns is extremely important and long overdue.”
The wānanga will begin with a pōhiri at 4:15 pm on Thursday 17 June.
If you know of any students who may be interested in attending the wānanga please advise them to contact and register on the email below