West Auckland rangatahi decide what economic mana motuhake means to them
Over four weeks between March – April 2023, Jewelz Petley – Specialist Advisor Youth Economy undertook a design project with a group of 5 young people alongside project partner Rānui 135. The design project was supported by The Southern and Western Initiatives, Te Taiwhanga Rangatahi and The Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity through the University of Melbourne.
Economic Mana Motuhake project rangatahi celebrating spending time with Robin and Josie from Te Kawerau ā Maki
The problem provocation “how might we disestablish traditional power dynamics to reimagine a new and inclusive economy for Rangatahi in West Auckland” was posed. Over a 4-week period, rangatahi from the Rānui area aged 16 to 22 were paid for their time and tasked with answering the above problem statement.
The design project was delivered in two parts; learning and doing. The first part had four sessions and provided learning opportunities for everyone involved.
Session one centred on whakawhanaungatanga, bringing the group together to learn about each other, creating relationships and building trust.
Session two was a 2-hour kōrero with the Māori Millionaire, Te Kauhukura Boynton (Ngati Kahungungu, Tuhoe, Whakatohea) who shared with the roopū information about money, investments and entrepreneurship.
Session three was a full day together and involved learning about both western and Indigenous economic systems, breaking down the differences and how these affect our lives daily. The group then spent some time with Sau’ila Dr Sonny Natanielu who shared wisdom on Pacific navigation methodologies and how these relate to identity and societal change opportunities.
The last session of learning was another full day, the first part of the day was spent with Mana Whenua Te Kawerau ā Maki who shared information about their tupuna, their rohe and a waiata for the group to remember the names of significant tupuna. Later on the same day, the team from Te Taiwhanga Rangatahi shared the Hautū Waka a Māori framework used historically as a navigation tool adapted to be used as a design framework when navigating complexity.
The following week was all about doing. The group went through a 3-day design sprint to ideate a “new and inclusive economy”. Over the first day, core values were established for the “new economy” – aloha, hauora, manaakitanga, atawhai, te taiao and indigeneity. Over the following two days, through a series of storyboards, role play, body storming and mock presentations, the group developed an idea to create an Indigenous based school holiday programme. As a group of Māori and Pasifika young people being provided with an opportunity to learn about economics through an Indigenous lens, the group concluded that this is the “economic alternative” they want to grow in their community. A programme that celebrated Māori and Pasifika cultures, valued traditional practices in a contemporary setting and taught these to children and young people just like themselves, to then be normalised as they grow up in today’s society. Another element is to teach traditional practices to then create tangible products to be sold at a pop up as part of the Indigenius mahi driven by Rānui 135 and online.
Following a debrief session with the rangatahi involved in the project, they have all indicated a desire to continue with project planning and implementation. The plan moving forward is to spend 2 to 3 hours together on Wednesday nights to plan, trouble shoot and understand who potential project partners would be to support programme delivery. The intention is for a holiday programme to be delivered during the coming school holidays in the Rānui community.
Short Video of the Economic Mana Motuhake