These 8 pou are our core values/concepts that are integral to our kaupapa. They ground us, help shape our vision, guide our strategic planning and inform our policies, procedures and practices.
It is important to note these values do not sit in isolation, often overlapping and influencing each other.
These are our simplified interpretations that work for use. We realise and appreciate there can be other interpretations of these values from iwi to iwi, with hapū and even whānau. We are on a path of constant learning and welcome any kōrero around any of these kaupapa.
ATUATANGA
E Rangi, E Papa, e te whānau Atua, whakatōhia to koutou manaakitanga i roto i tenei mahi a mātau
All things in te ao Māori start with ngā Atua. Atuatanga can be described as a form of environmental science – a way of understanding and explaining dynamic systems. When Māori first arrived they needed to learn a whole new ecosystem and adapt in order to survive. They did this by learning from te tai ao nature.
Atua information can be found in pūrākau, stories designed to guided us, to keep us safe and transfer knowledge across generations. As are waiata, whakatauki (proverbs), toi, whakairo (carving) and ta moko. Karakia are designed to connect us directly with Atua and are used when engaging (and disengaging) with lessons from ngā Atua.
MĀTAURANGA
Hapaitia te ara tika pumau ai te rangatiratanga o ngā uri whakatipu
Foster the pathway of knowledge to strength, independence and growth for the future generations
There are many pūrākau that show us the value Māori place on mātauranga. Tane (or Tāwhaki) went to great lengths to obtain the 3 kete of knowledge. Highlighting the importance of striving for advancing our understanding in order to ensure the continuation and strengthening of our whakapapa.
TMO promote Mātauranga Māori to improve hauora of individuals, whānau and communities. Facilitate kotahitanga and resilience within communities, advocate kaitiakitanga of our environments, and nurture the positive reintegration of Te Ao Māori with Te Ao Hurihuri, by providing learning and teaching opportunities around kaupapa Māori activities and concepts. Initially we will primarily be using kēmu Māori to promote te me ngā tikanga and various uara and āria Māori (values and concepts).
Akonga being the process of teaching and learning, they go hand in hand and can not exist without the other. TMO provides learning and teaching opportunities around kaupapa Māori activities and concepts sharing taonga tākaro as a fun safe way for people to engage in Māori customs and culture. Promoting more Māori spaces in contemporary settings like Pukehuia Park and the Botanical Gardens playground revamp. Normalising kōrero i te reo Māori. Providing safe spaces for people to listen, learn, practice and connect.
KOTAHITANGA
He waka eke noa
we are all in this together-
Kotahitanga for us is about interconnectivity. How we are all connected through whakapapa, to each other and to our environments. Tangata whenua, Tangata Tiriti, global citizen regardless we all have far more in common than we have differences
Whanaungatanga is part of creating kotahitanga, developing and strengthening genuine relationships with a range of stakeholders. To promote and support various Māori activities including games, atua wananga, mara kai development and other houora generating activities that are kaupapa Māori.
Tākaro are a fun and safe way of connecting everyone to Māori customs and culture. Play is universal spanning all cultures even across species. Play unites us, it helps us learn our limits and suh past them, play provides social interaction vital at all stages of life. It enables us to engage with and learn from our environments.
KAITIAKITANGA
Manaaki whenua, manaaki tangata, haere whakamua
Care for the land, care for the people, move forward
It’s more than recycling and reducing. We aim to empower individuals who can create community resilience and protect our environments. We also aim to protect mātauranga Māori by sharing information, verbally, visually, digitally and most importantly kinesthetically.
By creating a community around a group of various Māori activities including games, atua wananga, mara kai development and support. Develop and strengthen a network of like-minded groups and individuals to achieve vision. KAITIAKI. We aim to protect the environment, empower individuals, and build community resilience. Katiakitanga of Ranginui raua ko Papatuanuku. Environmental protection of land, air and waterways. Protection of whakapapa using maturanga Mātauranga Māori to improve health outcomes for whānau, hapū and Iwi. Protection of mātauranga Māori by sharing, promoting, advocation and leadership development.
URUTAU
Adaptability. For centuries Māori have adapted to colonial practices and ideologies which was needed at the time, times change and so should our methodologies. We encourage individuals, communities, businesses and political spheres to adapt to Māori ways of thinking (ideologies) especially through their engagement with each other and their environments.
We advocate for change with Taonga Tākaro as social norms in schools, communities, workplaces and homes. By targeting schools, local and central governments for political change supporting Mātauranga Māori in particular taonga tākaro.
TAURITE/WHARITE
Me te tāne ma te wāhine, ka ora ai to iwi ka piki, ki runga i ngā maunga teitei
It is through both the male and female, that the iwi will rise to great heights.
Equilibrium is a universal law.
Not just about gender balance but a total power balance. With treaty partners. Gender gaps. Disadvantaged, disenfranchised and disconnected. Balance the value of ideas, practices and identity.
We aim to address the imbalance of power and knowledge distribution between Māori and treaty partners. Balance out the information around Mātauranga Māori. Work life balance. Gender balance. Physical, mental, spiritual and whānau balance.
MANA
Mana can be translated as power, authority, prestige or social status. Mana is handed down from ngā Atua (mana Atua) through our ancestors (mana tupuna) to us. We can add to our mana through our actions (mana tangata) such as Maui Potiki’s great achievements, or smaller mana enhancing ways such as helping other people, your community or our environment. Mana can not really be translated to one word or even a paragraph.
One of TMO’s objectives is to enhance the mana of all the people involved with taonga tākaro and also support reclaiming the mana Te Ao Maori by helping revive taonga tākaro as a form of decolonisation and re-indigination.
RANGATIRATANGA
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero.
What is the food of chiefs? It is talk, it is talk, it is talk. Sharing knowledge and connecting.
Breaking the word down, Ranga means to weave and Tira is a group of people. So leadership is about bringing people together. The kōrero aspect is about sharing knowledge, which makes sure we are on the same page and heading in the same directions
TMO strongly believes success is succession. Building leaders is critical to any long term kaupapa. We provide leadership development opportunities through schools and provide bicultural leadership to Nuku Ora’s leadership development kaupapa https://www.nukuora.org.nz/leadership-development/tu-rangatira-lead-with-purpose/
TMO provide opportunities that promote leadership at all ages and stages. Including the tuakana/teina principle in schools, applying tewhatewha (self reffing) during game play, linking role models with rangatahi to sharing rangatira lessons.
Our Tū Rangatira (leadership development) kaupapa helps people and organisations navigate bi-cultural leadership complexities using traditional and contemporary concepts and models.
For find out more about our pou or our services korero mai
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