Māori Futures Academy a first for Aotearoa
Ngāi Tahu and the University of Canterbury have today committed to establishing a centre for indigenous social innovation led by Tokona Te Raki Māori Futures Collective.
UC’s Head of Aotahi School of Māori and Indigenous Studies Sacha McMeeking is Tokona te Raki Co-director.
An overarching desire for equity in education, employment, and income for all Māori by 2040 is behind the bold initiative. “When we reach the 200 year anniversary of Te Tīrītī o Waitangi we want to be able to celebrate that one of the fundamental terms of Te Tīrītī has finally been realised, turning the tide on intergenerational patterns of disadvantage to create a platform of equity that can launch Māori into new and prosperous futures. This will not only benefit Māori but all New Zealanders,” says Bennett.
Inspired by the Stanford d.school, the Māori Futures Academy is designed to provide rangatahi with cadetships in tackling complex challenges and in doing so grow the next generation of future-makers who bring leading-edge thinking, research, expertise, and innovative tools to create a better future.
Bennett says, “Our vision is that the Academy will provide an opportunity to grow whānau and hapū capability so that whānau are empowered to lead change and build solutions that work for them. It is wonderful to be embracing a new and innovative approach to growing our future leaders who will take the iwi forward. If successful we will be an Indigenous remix of Stanford’s d School with global reach and in time, impact.”
Tokona te Raki is a Ngāi Tahu social innovation lab which operates as a standalone entity with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu as its sole shareholder. Over the past two years it has achieved national prominence as a futures lab with expertise in research and unique indigenous design processes to support innovation in a rapidly changing world.