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Spotlight on the projects
The website will soon have more stories about the groups being funded under MPEI, exploring in detail their vision and progress so far. Meanwhile, we reproduce here an article by the Trust's Chair, Ann Hartley, that was recently printed by the New Zealand Herald.
Traditional Values and Innovative Solutions
Ann Hartley, Chair, ASB Community Trust
In 2006, faced with the evidence of systemic failure and indications of a pending educational crisis, Trustees of the ASB Community Trust saw an opportunity to make a difference with funds which were not tagged to infrastructure or existing projects, funds that could instead be focussed on innovation.
Now, after three years’ work, we have committed in excess of $10 million to the Māori and Pasifika Education Initiative (MPEI), which was launched in Auckland on November 30.
It is the end result of an ambitious and uncharted philanthropic journey in search of innovative proposals to address the serious problem of educational underachievement among Māori and Pacific Island youth in our communities.
After a series of hui and fono held throughout the region it was clear that the solutions lay in the communities themselves, so MPEI has focused on community innovation, supporting ideas that have grown from grass-roots experience. Over 300 written proposals were received from Auckland and Northland, with seven groups receiving funding.
The lively presentations by applicants convinced us that, given the opportunity and resources, Māori and Pacific Island communities will generate and lead their own solutions. Their resounding message was ‘we think we can take charge of this problem and turn things around for our people – but we need to do it our way’.
The full list of groups is now on the www.initiative.org.nz website, but what is important to note about these fledgling initiatives is that people with passion and vision were already working on this problem before the Trust became involved. Now, fully funded by the Trust for the next five years, they have the resources to turn their vision into reality.
To begin with, we called on Māori and Pacific educational and community leaders to work together and develop the terms of reference. It was these people who came up with MPEI’s powerful guiding vision: Mā tātou ano tātou e kōrero (we speak for ourselves).
I think the words of Ngati Hine’s Kevin Prime, my predecessor as Chair of ASB Community Trust, best explain the powerful significance of that vision:
“Why is it so important that we speak for ourselves? For so many years others have been speaking for us, knowing what was good for us, making decisions for us. But we do not need others to speak for us; we can speak for ourselves. We know what is good for us and we are capable of making our own decisions.”
After the Māori and Pacific reference groups had mapped out the initiative’s scope, some members agreed to join our trustees on committees that would assess the projects.
This was a major commitment of time and resources, so the caliber of the people this initiative was able to attract speaks volumes. Although they spoke as individuals, their professional backgrounds and mana have added credibility at both an educational and community level.
On the Māori selection committee we had MP Kelvin Davis, Auckland University’s Dr Manuka Henare, Dr Elizabeth McKinley and Rangimarie Hunia, Education 4 Enterprise Director Frank Leadley and ASB Community Trust Trustees Sr Mary Foy, Waitai Petera, Kevin Prime and Kristen Kohere-Soutar.
On the Pacific selection committee were Unitec’s Linda Aumua, MSD’s Mokauina Fuemana-Ngaro, MoE’s Ezra Schuster, educational consultants Faafua
Leavasa-Tautolo and Lili Tuioti, who joined Trustees Sr Mary Foy, Soana Pamaka, Jenny Kirk and Wilmason Jensen.
Together we went to the community in early 2008 to find the solutions. We asked people to share their dreams with us and, after a series of hui and fono had been held throughout the region, the Trust received more than 300 written proposals. Thirty seven of those were short-listed and in November 2009 seven groups received full funding to begin implementing their visions.
We know that becoming agents of change is a slow process and from its earliest days MPEI was built on the saying ‘Titiro atu ki nga taumata o te moana (look to the distant horizon of the sea). As a result, we have promised long-term commitment to this initiative which includes high standards for success and a robust evaluation of their processes and results by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
The full list of groups is now on the www.initiative.org.nz website, but what is important to note about these fledgling initiatives is that people with passion and vision were already working on this problem before the Trust became involved. Now, fully funded by the Trust for the next five years, they have the resources to turn their vision into reality.
The process has been immensely challenging for ASB Community Trust. It has been an ambitious and uncharted philanthropic journey and we have learned to be open and willing to do things differently. We have also learned the importance of manākitanga (hospitality) and to embrace the opportunity to learn the protocols of respectful engagement. It has been this respect and appreciation of everyone’s contribution that has kept relationships intact through what has been a long and challenging journey.
We know that becoming agents of change is a slow process and from its earliest days MPEI was built on the saying ‘Titiro atu ki nga taumata o te moana (look to the distant horizon of the sea). As a result, we have promised long-term commitment to this initiative, which will include robust evaluation of the process and results by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
It’s already clear that educational underachievement is unlikely to be overcome by a single silver bullet, but rather by a number of magic bullets. There will continue to be lessons learned from MPEI and we are committed to sharing both what works and what does not.
We will contribute to discussions on what to look for and encourage others to commit to innovative and strategic solutions that will allow these young people to fully engage in New Zealand society while developing the capacity and skills they will need to manage and grow their economic base.
MPEI projects announced
30/11/09
ASB Community Trust has announced the seven projects that will be funded under its Māori and Pasifika Education Initiative.
The projects will be fully funded by the Trust for the next five years as part of its commitment to find and support community initiatives that will promote Māori and Pasifika educational excellence.
In announcing the funding, CEO Jennifer Gill said the Trust set out three years ago to address the issue of the underachievement among Māori and Pasifika children in schools. In doing so, it called on the community to come up with solutions.
“This is an ambitious and uncharted philanthropic journey in search of innovative proposals to address the serious problem of educational underachievement,” she said. “The aim is to lift Māori and Pasifika educational outcomes by a significant percentage.”
The Trust began by forming Māori and Pasifika reference groups, made up of educationalist and community leaders, to guide the process. Then, in January 2008, it went to the community and asked for ideas and proposals. From the short-list of proposals, seven projects were eventually chosen.
“Lively presentations by short-listed applicants communicated that, if given the opportunity and resources, Māori and Pasifika communities will generate and lead their own solutions,” Ms Gill said. “Their resounding message was ‘we think we can take charge of this problem and turn things around for our people – but we need to do it our way’.”
Ms Gill said keeping a long-term view and committing funding up front created a sense of possibility when the reference groups met.
“Such ambition invigorated the commitment of Māori and Pasifika contributors, who reached for a gold standard in decision-making.”
The Trust will continue to work with the seven groups and give them whatever support they need to succeed.
“Hard facts and academic research prove beyond doubt that educational achievement is critical for the wellbeing and prosperity of Māori and Pacific Island communities, as well as our nation,” Ms Gill said.
“It is in New Zealand’s long-term social, cultural and economic interest to address this problem. Failing to do so could condemn future generations of Māori and Pasifika communities to an unskilled underclass, blight economic progress, hinder attempts to strengthen social cohesion and harm New Zealand’s international reputation.”
The seven projects are:
Rise Up Trust, Manukau
Rise Up Trust began as a response to the rising levels of gang violence in South Auckland. The founders believe that education and relationships are the keys to breaking the cycle of poverty. Begun by two Mangere teachers, the Trust has developed a series of unique parenting courses called ‘Building Learning Communities’, with the understanding that 'you cannot change people's actions until they change the way they think'. The Rise Up Trust model, which aligns to the school curriculum, is an inquiry based learning framework that encourages parents and children to be active participants in the learning process.
Ideal Success Trust, Manurewa
The Ideal Success Trust will run Huarahi Tika (the right pathway), which helps Māori children achieve educational success by setting up a motivational programme that will work closely with their whanau. Designed for children aged 10-15 years, the programme also recognises that development of the whanau is critical to the success of the child. Huarahi Tika will implement a range of services that inform, motivate and support Māori children and empower their whanau to prioritise actions and behaviours that result in educational success.
Sylvia Park School, Mt Wellington
The school is establishing a project co-ordinator position to act as a key link between home and school. This learning partnership will help families understand how their children are performing. It will also challenge the school to look at its own effectiveness in delivering the programmes Māori and Pasifika students need.
The Unitec Graduate Diploma in Not for Profit Management
Scholarships will be offered to encourage students from Pacific Island communities to enrol for the three-year course. The diplomas will help build capacity and leadership within Pasifika early childhood learning centres and will be particularly relevant for the centres’ managers and board members.
Leadership Academy of A Company, Whangarei
The leadership academy, which aims to build Māori leadership, is scheduled to open in Whangarei next year. Run by the He Puna Marama Trust, it is aimed at young Māori men at secondary level with academic ability or talent in any field. The academy will develop leadership through an innovative residential programme, customised learning and partnering with local secondary schools.
Toku Reo Tupuna Trust, Manukau
Toku Reo Tupuna Trust aims to provide education and training programmes to assist people, families and communities of Cook Islands descent to learn and use the Te Reo Kuki Airani language.
C-Me Mentoring Foundation, Otahuhu
The C-Me Mentoring Foundation will deliver a youth trade training mentoring programme for trade training services. It will link industries, schools, technical institutions and Māori and Pacific students, mentor the students and encourage their families to get involved in the process. The programme was developed by C-Me project manager John Kotoisuva while he was working for Steel Construction New Zealand Limited (SCNZ). The C-Me Mentoring Foundation intends to replicate the successes of the SCNZ apprenticeship programme within other industries.
Education initiative to build Maori leadership
October 15, 2009
An exciting new initiative aimed at building Maori leadership is scheduled to open in Whangarei next year.
The initiative is aimed at young Maori men at secondary level with academic ability or talent in any field. Leadership development is provided through an innovative residential programme, customised learning and partnering with local secondary schools.
The initiative, aptly named the “Leadership Academy of A Company”, is a tribute to the men and history of the 28 (Maori) Battalion - A Company. It is one of only eight projects throughout New Zealand – and the only one in Northland - to have secured funding from the ASB Community Trust’s new Maori and Pacific Education Initiative fund.
Spokesperson Telly Warren, Chair of He Puna Marama, the organisation behind the initiative, said that the Academy would draw on successful learning models from the past, including the Military, Maori boarding schools, and Maori Trade Training.
“We are very honoured to have been bestowed this name. The Battalion has rich history that touches every Maori community in the north. Of the four companies in the battalion, ‘A Company’ was comprised of men from the north of the Bombay Hills, commonly called ‘the gumdiggers’. Living up to that legacy is part and parcel of the Academy’s high expectations”.
Mr Warren said the Academy’s aim was to be “a centre of excellence for leadership” The three key planks of the Academy are:
- Be Maori – be comfortable with who you are
- Be Rangatira – live lives of integrity, self discipline and service
- Be Educated – aim high
Like the Maori Boarding schools of old, boys live at the Academy during the week to focus effort and build a culture of excellence and achievement. They will follow a structured mentoring programme not unlike the military and like Maori Trade Training their education is carried out by education institutes such as high schools or qualified providers of secondary school programmes.
The Academy will start in 2010 with a maximum intake of 20 students, or ‘cadets’ as they will be known. In this first year, applications will be accepted from whanau with boys who are in Year 9 through to year 12. The Academy’s education staff will work with the cadet, his whanau and his high school to develop and implement a customised learning plan. The Academy’s Cadre team will provide the day to day care, guidance, mentoring and a programme of activities before and after school, building upon the three key Academy planks.
A venue for the Academy is about to be finalised, and applications are now open for the key staffing positions. We seek people who are highly principled, dedicated to working with our youth, may have an extensive military, education or youth work background and bring that something ‘extra’ to the mix.
Applications for potential cadets for 2010 open soon. A presentation night is being planned for interested whanau.
Mr Warren said that the Academy was the only one of its kind in New Zealand, and that ASB Community Trust should be congratulated for its support of innovative approaches to encouraging Maori boys’ achievement.
“Our mission is to work with whanau, high schools and the wider community to support secondary students with talent to excel.
For more information on the Academy including staff recruitment and cadet selection please view the Academy website on www.mokonz.co.nz or phone 09 4388422.