Skip to content

Te Ako Rau is a free, online mentoring programme for grassroots Māori collectives to shape or consolidate their pūtaio, rangahau or auaha initiatives. The programme involves attending six 90-minute wānanga each week for six weeks. Te Ako Rau is an opportunity for whānau Māori to come together in a safe space to learn, level up and connect with mātanga who can assist them to develop or strengthen their kaupapa.

Te Ako Rau is now open for applications to participate in one of the following mentoring rounds for 2024:

  • Round 2: 18th of March to the 28th of April 2024 (For established rōpū that have a legal entity.)
  • Round 3: 13th of May to the 23rd of June 2024 (For early stage rōpū.)

This programme is suitable for a range of kaupapa Māori rōpū, such as a whakapapa-based collective wanting to do research about their hapū, an urban māra kai or taiao restoration collective, a rōpū of rangatahi on a mission to reclaim mātauranga, a budding crew of Māori data scientists and many kaupapa in between.  

During the six 90-minute wānanga, participants will receive mentoring on:

  • funding and sustainability
  • clarity of vision
  • kia Māori te titiro – tūpuna approaches to RSI-related mahi
  • mobilising support for your kaupapa
  • robust governance
  • intellectual property considerations
  • roles and responsibilities
  • and technological advancements that may impact or accelerate your mahi.  

Te Ako Rau is free to attend, requiring an investment of your time. To be considered, we ask that your rōpū members commit to attending all of the six wānanga (weekly on Monday evenings from 7-8:30pm, online).

Who can attend?

Each round of wānanga will be dedicated to either:

  • early-stage rōpū that wish to clarify their vision and purpose, set up a legal structure, get accounting and tax advice, and better understand resourcing opportunities; or
  • established rōpū that have a legal entity that may be wanting to grow their matauranga Māori approaches or pivoting direction or further strengthen an aspect of their foundations.

    We recommend you enrol at least two and up to five people from your collective but individuals may still apply.

What is the cost?

There is no cost to participate. Your investment is your time.

Is study time needed between wānanga?

The six wānanga will be the primary delivery of the mentoring. There may be a short reading or video, or pātai for your rōpū to consider before each wānanga. Te Ako Rau is designed to be pragmatic and relevant to your immediate needs. 

What are your data and privacy policies?

We care about your privacy. Personal information and responses entered on this form will be stored securely in Aotearoa and will not be shared beyond our preferred data storage host, Kanapu and AATEA Solutions.

The online wānanga will be recorded and portions of them may be shared online; for example, presentations by mātanga joining the sessions. Session recordings may also be shared among rōpū attendees.

For more information please see our privacy policy here.