LinC 2021 Activator: Fufilling the role of Tangata Tiriti - Being a Good Treaty Partner

The second of our 2021 series we explore the subject in the forefront of our minds by firstly hearing from Mana Whenua who will give us a brief insight on how we can incorporate being a good treaty partner in our everyday lives. This should spark those thoughts and questions we’ve been wanting to address but just don’t know where to start or who to approach. Here you will have the opportunity to join an open discussion, sharing experiences and ideas as well as Q&A with our Keynote Speaker Kaharoa Manihera - Senior Advisor - Ngai Tahu & Maori Relationships at Christchurch City Council

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WHEN: Wednesday 2 June, 6-8pm

WHERE: TSB Space, Tūranga Central LIbrary (Level 1)

Nibbles available

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Meet Kaharoa Manihera

Senior Advisor – Ngāi Tahu and Māori Relationships, Office of the Chief Executive - Christchurch City Council

Volunteer – Squad Leader (2017) – Civil Defence Response Team 10

Job description:

I advise staff, Elected Members and the Mayor about relationships that Christchurch City Council has with Local Māori within the Christchurch takiwā. In particular, the six Ngāi Tahu marae who have manawhenua status here. I also help staff and Elected Members gain confidence when they need to engage with the marae, or any of the community.

Favourite part of job:

There are so many things about this job that I love; obviously being part of the Civil Defence Response Team is one of them. Other than being deployed in any emergency (Earthquake, flooding, fires, storm response etc) my team gets one day off per month to go out and train on all aspects of emergency management, general rescue, urban search and rescue, and civil defence. I also need to use aspects of Māoridom to engage with different groups of people within the community. No two days are the same here!

What I am working on now:

I am currently working on about 30 projects…. Ranging from multi-million-dollar facilities and supporting the Project Managers, through to engaging with both staff and marae to establish protocols for openings and blessings and setting up Pōwhiri for dignitaries and sports teams. That’s not including writing policies, strategies and memorandums for our standing committee – Te Hononga.

A quick story about a job well done:

I am teaching the Elected Members and the Mayor te reo Māori and waiata. A few months ago, I was asked by our marae to conduct a blessing for an event. I had finished my mihi whakatau and began singing my waiata. The Mayor and Elected Members stood and supported me with the waiata. The community thought it was amazing and the Elected Members felt proud of their achievements.

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What is Activator?

The LinC Project Activator has been designed to support community leaders across Canterbury with a speaker series aimed at inspiring and growing leaders in their communities. Each Activator event, had a different theme and focus, and offered amazing opportunities for discussion, engagement and learning. These public events are open to anyone ready to be inspired, challenged and motivated.

What Is The LinC Project?

Building communities through supporting local leaders.

The LinC Project started as a 10-month, strengths-based leadership programme for 40+ individuals from communities across Greater Christchurch in 2014. The second group began in December 2015, with 35 leaders from ‘community organisations’ and 10 leaders from Government organisations. In 2018 the LinC project becomes LinC Incubator, LinC Cultivator and Activator.

The intention of LinC is to support and sustain these leaders, their colleagues and their wider communities.