Foundation North funds project to create young wahine Maori leaders
Foundation North is to invest $900,000 over the next five years, through its Tohia te Tapairu - Tamāhine Leadership Fund, in an innovative programme to create young wahine Māori leaders.
The two year programme, Urutapu, takes young Māori women aged 16 – 19 on a transformative leadership journey, incorporating both traditional tikanga as well as contemporary leadership models and thinking. It is provided by the Mad Ave Community Trust, led by Veeshayne and Tamati Patuwai.
“We are excited about the potential of this programme,” Foundation North’s project manager Moi Becroft says. “The Mad Ave Community Trust is already doing meaningful and engaging work with our communities in east Auckland. Their concept incorporates tikanga and matauranga for wellness and transformation - we are really looking forward to supporting this project.”
Urutapu is now open for applications for its first intake of tamāhine (young women) from both Auckland and Northland and closes on the 1st of May 2016.
“Our young wahine have an unbelievable source of energy and potential to have long lasting impact on society in their teenage years,” Mad Ave co-director Veeshayne Patuwai says.
“We are thrilled to be working in partnership with Foundation North, this will be an amazing journey for everyone involved, and we can’t wait to get started.”
The Urutapu programme will be the final project funded under Foundation North’s Māori and Pacific Education Initiative (MPEI). This has seen the Foundation invest over $20 million dollars since 2009 to support innovative approaches to improve education outcomes. Significant successes include the Sylvia Park School home - school learning partnership programme, Mutukaroa, which is now being rolled out to a 100 schools by the Ministry of Education.
The Foundation will provide organisational support to the Mad Ave Community Trust through the Foundation’s subsidiary, Centre for Social Impact.
Learn more about the project: www.urutapu.com
