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He Ohu Inspire, kia tūturu, kia tika, kia pono te ao Māori. We are on this journey because it is the right thing to do.
As a tauiwi organisation, we’re taking the stand to grow our awareness and knowledge of the country we live in and call home. We’re acknowledging the past, learning from it and creating a future we can all be proud of.
Since its inception in 2020, Decolonising Ohu Inspire has evolved, what hasn’t changed is our why, our kawa: He Ohu Inspire, kia tuturu, kia tika, kia pono o te ao Māori | Inspire Group will be authentic, just and genuine to the Māori world.
Decolonising Ohu Inspire came from the want to learn more about te ao Māori and for Mereana (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Ngāti Ruapani, former Inspire Group Marketing Manager) to share more about who she is. Ngā mihi nui ki a koe for planting the seed, building the Decolonising Ohu Inspire foundation and growing our commitment to Tōitu te Tiriti.
We used decolonising as a way of setting our intent for this mahi. Using a word that’s known for making some feel uncomfortable, make a stand and grow people’s understanding and awareness of what the word means. We wanted to give it decolonising meaning, challenging the perception and giving people a different way of looking at it.
In 2020, we made deliberate steps forward in our haerenga to embrace te ao Māori. With each year, the steps we take are stronger, prouder and bigger.
In prepartion for our first noho marae, David Hakaraia, created this toi Māori to represent the journey we are on.
The poutama | stepped pattern of tukutuku panels and woven mats, is the way in which we are striving to attain knowledge and the piko | bend or corner, are the people on the journey.
The chevron, with piko, shows how we are showing leadership in this space.
The kaperua | kōwhaiwhai pattern, represents the world of te ao Māori, and our journey within it.
Tēnā koe, i whānau mai au ki Iwikatea. I tupu ake au ki Ōtepoti. Kei Onepoto ahau e noho ana, nā reira, me mihi atu ki te mana whenua, Ngāti Toa. Kei te Kaiwhakatere i Inspire Group ahau e mahi ana. Ko Gemma tōku ingoa. Tēnā koe.
As we’ve grown in our Decolonising Ohu Inspire mahi, I have become our Kaiwhakatere, navigating our path in te ao Māori with support from tangata whenua.
Together we set our Mahere Rautaki, facilitate our hui, provide opportunities and create resources for all of us to grow our knowledge, comfort and confidence in te ao Māori.
In winter, we rest, reflect and reset for the year ahead. Our theme for takurua is tūturu.
Matariki was a key focus, as we picked our guiding whetū and set our intention for the year. Our koha to the team was ‘Te reo Māori mō te tari’. A chameleon module that takes people on a journey through our office, sharing kupu they can learn along the way.
Decolonising Ohu Inspire is preparing to go out to our global teams this year, we’ll be using this time to plan the haerenga and what that looks like.
Spring is our time to plant and grow. The perfect time to focus in on te reo Māori.
We’ll dive into the meaning of kupu we use, building our kete and growing confidence and comfort to kōrero Māori.
In September, we take the opportunity to acknowledge the mahi everyone does with Rā Oranga. A day gifted to all kaimahi to do something to fill their waiora and focus on their hauora.
As the days grow longer, we reflect and look back to look forward, titiro whakamuri, kōkiri whakamua.
We’ll kōrero more about the history of Aotearoa, hearing stories of the past, learning from them and growing our perspectives.
This quarter we aim to build our learning kete, with another chameleon module to extend our kupu Māori.
Te taiao is the focus for Ngahuru. With the change of seasons, we’ll look at how te taiao nourishes us, its forms and its identity.
Autumn is the time for us to reflect on the year that was and begin to form the Mahere Rautaki for the next year. We’ll check in with what kaimahi got from the year and where they want to go over the next year.
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