Systems Change is by definition transformational, but relationship-led innovative approaches are neither quick nor easy and can be a daunting prospect without reliable support structures in place. So how do we amplify Systems Change for a more equitable future that is Te Tiriti-based, connected and community-designed?

Learning Lunches are a series of webinars run by the SASS group, which cover five pathways for building positive and impactful systems change in Aotearoa, NZ. These topics are drawn from our 2023 non-white paper Voices from the Frontlines: Community-driven Pathways for Systems Change in Aotearoa.

For our final Learning Lunch, Pathway #5: Encourage Experimentation and Amplify Transformation, we will be joined by guest speakers Malu Malo-Fuiava (Belong Aotearoa), Red Nicholson (The D*List), and Erin Matariki Carr (We Are River) to dig into experiences, methods, and the potential for experimentation and transformation across systems change work.

Pack your lunch, bring your pātai, feed your mind, and join us for our final open kōrero of 2024!

Malu Malo-Fuiava has spent her life in the charitable sector, that started in social enterprise before moving to the youth cancer sector, working in marketing, communications and fundraising. In 2018 she made the move to the migrant and refugee sector using her skills and experience at Belong Aotearoa, previously called Auckland Regional Migrant Services. As MarComms manager she chaired the committee to change the name, supporting the organisation alongside the CEO, Board and staff to shift from service delivery to systems change. Currently she is the Practice and Development Manager overseeing systems change practice in the organisation across staff delivering initiatives. Malu started her systems change journey 5 years ago and is passionate about making a positive difference that utilises her marketing and communications skills to connect communities and opportunities, that spark transformative systems change.

Red Nicholson (he/him, Pākehā) is a long-suffering Warriors fan, recovering high school teacher, and proud disabled person. With a background in the education and creative sectors, Red’s work is driven by a vision for an equitable Aotearoa, underpinned by Te Tiriti, where all people are valued and resourced to live extraordinary lives. He works as Executive Director at The D*List, which is on a mission to grow disabled storytelling, community and creativity. Red, his wife and his three children live in West Auckland.

Erin Matariki Carr, of Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa and Pākehā descent, lives in her traditional homelands in Aotearoa/New Zealand and works in law and policy, with a focus on the interface between Indigenous and Western legal systems and methodologies. Matariki is a researcher and facilitator focusing on the constitutional transformation movement in Aotearoa with a number of other teams, including as a research scholar at University of Auckland School of Law, a Project Lead at RIVER Aotearoa Charitable Trust and facilitator with Tūmanako Consultants.

The Systems Change Advocacy, Support, and Solidarity (SASS) Group was founded in 2022 by a core group of experienced, hands-on changemakers fiercely passionate about community-led, relationship-based, collaborative systems change and creating a more equitable future in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Read more here »