Māori Engagement Training - Module 1 2025

We are delighted to share with the Nelson Tasman Climate Forum community an opportunity provided by Peter Lawless, Director at The Lawless Edge Ltd and Facilitator at Phoenix Facilitation.

Peter invites us to deepen our understanding of the Māori worldview and principles to develop the capacity of the Nelson Tasman Climate Forum community to engage positively with the Māori in te Tau Ihu o te waka a Maui.

This Māori engagement training will be divided into 6 Modules of 6 weeks each. The overall approach will be to follow a koru pattern introducing all the necessary elements from the beginning and then offering opportunities to deepen understanding and capability in each aspect.

The objective is for participants to become confident and capable in engaging with Māori in the region. Minimum learning to reach conscious incompetence, knowing what you don’t know in relation to what you need to know. For some, it can be the beginning of a learning journey where they can become consciously competent in a range of situations.

The learning objective of the 1st Module on Foundations will be to have a basic understanding of the elements required to competently engage with Māori on behalf of the Climate Forum. The foundational module (Module 1) will be required for participation in later modules. The later modules are standalone for those that have done module 1.

The 6 sessions of this 1st Module will be organised as follow:

• Session 1 - Te Ao Māori (Māori beliefs and values - Creation - The Atua (Gods) and relationship to Tangata (people) - Climate and Biodiversity -  Whakapapa).
• Session 2 - Te Tiriti (Reason for the Treaty - Preparation and signing of the Treaty - The versions - Legal status - Relationship to individuals).
• Session 3 - Te Reo Rangatira (Why Te Reo Rangatira matters - Pronunciation - Basic greetings).
• Session 4 - Interacting (Māori structures in Te Tauihu - The iwi of this region - Mana whenua and tangata whenua - Tribal structures – traditional and modern).
• Session 5 - Communicating respectfully (Tikanga in a range of situations - Mihi and powhiri).
• Session 6 - Integrating for engagement (Drawing the understanding together - Where to go for more information or training - Future modules).

The registration is made for the full Module 1, including the 6 sessions.