Hari matariki – happy matariki

Initial Matariki celebrations in Manukau this year, synchronised to the maramataka (Māori Lunar calendar), were both emotive and exciting. A week long rock carving symposium led by master carvers Darryl Thompson (Ngāti Kahungunu) and Filipe Tohi (Tonga) turned heads and ended with a matariki themed market in Manukau’s Civic Square. Organised by TSI, Healthy Families Manukau, Manurewa Papakura (HFMMP) and Panuku Placemaking South the symposium saw 12 sculptured pou created from Oamaru stone, telling stories of the stars, as well as a unique portable stone maramataka. Te Mata o Rehua Maramataka Cultural Market featured a number of stalls showcasing indigenous and other ethnic kai, crafts, creative ware and local enterprise. Held on June 30, the Oike phase of the moon, it provided a health focused, whānau-friendly series of activities and was followed in the evening by a special exhibition with a light projection onto the council’s Manukau civic centre, TSI’s home base. With the population set to increase from 6000 to 20,000 people, Manukau has been identified by Panuku as a ‘transform’ location meaning in order to reach its full potential its development requires a long-term, integrated, holistic and custodial approach. “We’ve been using the maramataka to help guide us in some of our team’s work which in turn helps give intent to council’s high level statement regarding a thriving Māori identity being Auckland’s point of difference,” says TSI Social Intrapreneur David Rameka.

Hōngongoi/Here-turi-kōkā - July/August 2018 Newsletter

“A number of organisations across the community including marae, schools, kura Māori and whānau are using maramataka in their respective activities and it’s incredibly empowering and exciting.” The pou created over the week will be used for a number of purposes including a teaching resource for the community and connecting with and discussing traditional Māori systems in accordance with the maramataka. Since navigating the vast oceans of the Pacific, and long-term occupation of Aotearoa, Māori and other Pacific people have relied on lunar calendars to measure the cycles of the natural environment. Kaiārahi Māori HFMMP’s Mason Ngawhika says in our relenting pursuit towards urbanisation, an awareness of the seasons starting with the celebration of matariki “may be the most immediate way of reconnecting to our natural world and realising we are all under the same roof, influenced by the moon and stars”. It is hoped the market will be an annual event.

From incinerator to inventive change Sikhs all over New Zealand and around the world are finding creative and cross-cultural ways to re-use cloth previously discarded after religious ceremonies thanks to an idea germinated in South Auckland. In Sikhism, Rumala Sahib are wrappings, draperies and coverlets used as altar cloths to protect prayer books and scriptures, or scarves worn during worship, traditionally burnt or thrown away after use. However in Takanini the Supreme Sikh Society of New Zealand now donates the fabric to local organisations to be upcycled into beautiful products, reused by the wider community. Around 200 women with the Cook Island Development Agency New Zealand (CIDANZ), Te Awa Ora Trust, the Māngere East Community Centre and the Auckland Regional Migrant Services under the Wise Collective use their skills and creativity to give the fabric a second life, showcasing the work based on their own cultural backgrounds. Word of the initiative quickly spread and now temples around New Zealand send their Rumala Sahib to Takanini for re-purposing and temples in a number of countries around the world including Canada, India, British Colombia and Australia are following the Takanini Gurudwara example. “We have managed to find a unique solution on what to do with the holy cloth without hurting anyone’s sentiment and in a way that sees different communities acknowledging and respecting others’ faiths,” says Supreme Sikh Society New Zealand spokesperson Daljit Singh. “The new works being distributed to the wider community are also generating a source of income to the families of those involved – an amazing opportunity to create positive outcomes for hundreds of families from different ethnic groups across Auckland.” The cloth came up in conversation between the temple and a team of social intrapreneurs from TSI and HFMMP who then facilitated the upcycling plan through local contacts. An added and very significant bonus in the sacred cloth being reused is the reduction of CO2 emissions. The Takanini Temple was burning on average one tonne of fabric a year, releasing around 3.6 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. That’s equivalent to the CO2 emissions from a standard passenger vehicle driven for around 18,000 km or 1650 litres of petrol. “This is an extremely good example of how a small, bright idea at community level can make waves all over the world by increasing greater understanding and acceptance between different cultures,” says TSI’s Director of Community and Social Innovation, Gael Surgenor. “It means a bond between the Pasifika and other cultures with Sikh communities, a bond of respect and friendship which will continue to grow and flourish. We see this relationship as a win-win for all those involved, for South Auckland and also for the environment.”

CIDANZ mamas are among those making beautiful products such as handbags (below) from material previously burnt or thrown away.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/call-recycling-unusual-partnership-develops-

between-sikh-community-and-retired-cook-islands-women-over-sacred-cloth

New beginnings to energise Manukau The official opening of Manukau’s first Co-work and Makerspace is imminent and it gives us great pleasure to announce its name – Te Haa o Manukau (Haa). Haa Manukau is a flagship initiative of TSI in collaboration with Panuku Development Auckland and Auckland Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) via GridAKL. The space aims to spark entrepreneurship, grow innovative ventures and equip young people, in particular Māori and Pasifika with skills needed for the future. The operator appointed to partner with us in the makerspace initiative is Manukau-based social enterprise Ngahere Communities Ltd (www.ngaherecommunities.nz) who will cultivate a community that enhances creativity and innovation by using collaborative spaces, common values and co-designed programmes. Together, all parties will play a key role in helping shape the future of South Auckland innovators and entrepreneurs which in turn is expected to contribute to growing Auckland’s enterprise and innovation ecosystem. Haa Manukau is in the Boehringer Ingelheim Building in Osterley Way (pictured). TSI is committed to a three year lease on the space which covers two floors and has room for people to build, create and tinker, a place to brainstorm and for informal gatherings, meeting rooms, a social hub and kitchen, more than 30 desks, a reception area and a board room.

Procuring another first The country’s first social procurement conference hosted by TSI was attended by more than 130 people in the public sector from Auckland and around New Zealand. Creating Shared Prosperity through Public Procurement 2018 featured several high profile subject matter experts from New Zealand and overseas including ARCBlue Director Chris Newman, Supply National CEO Laura Berry and Dr Ingrid Burkett, Director Learning and Systems Innovation, The Australian Centre for Social Innovation. Supply Nation is the leading supplier diversity organisation in Australia, ARCBlue is a specialist procurement consultancy operating in Asia and the Pacific and TACSI tackles Australia’s toughest social challenges by bringing best-in-world innovation practice to Australia. The Minister of Māori Development and Local Government, Hon Nanaia Mahuta was the keynote speaker at the conference held in conjunction with Auckland Council, the Pacific Business Trust, the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, the Māori Economic Development team at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and Te Puni Kōkori. “Social procurement is a strategic lever the public sector can use to create quality and sustainable employment and enterprise opportunities which in turn creates shared prosperity, one of TSI’s key focus areas,” says TSI Social Intrapreneur Tania Pouwhare who led a session.

“TSI’s work in this regard is literally ground-breaking. On the recently completed Manukau Bus Station (see next page) build TSI worked with Auckland Transport to build employment requirements into the tender. We anticipated we would get five graduates from our Māori and Pasifika Trades Training Programme employed and, in the end, thanks to a robust relationship with the contractor New Zealand Strong, we placed 13 people into employment with sub-contractors.

“Because we used the procurement lever those young people got quality jobs with upskilling built into their contracts and an opportunity that will make a huge difference to their lives and the lives of their families.”

The conference was opened by Councillor Penny Hulse, Chair of the council’s Environment and Community Committee and closed with a panel session exploring why New Zealand is so far behind in social procurement when its standard practice across the world.

Feedback from attendees confirmed TSI’s work in this field is now influencing central government agencies as well as the local government sector. Those attending were also very interested in the recently established He Waka Eke Noa, New Zealand’s first social procurement intermediary for Māori and Pasifika businesses. It is modelled on Supply Nation which, in just a few short years, has grown contracts to indigenous businesses from AD$6m to AD$597m. He Waka Eke Noa works to include Māori and Pacific small and medium sized-enterprises in major infrastructure projects and its first client is City Rail Link Ltd.

Policy by Design Symposium A Policy by Design Symposium developed and co-hosted by Auckland Co-Design Lab, TSI and Community and Social Policy was attended by more than 60 staff from Auckland Council and government agencies. The two-day event explored the role of co-design and design in policy advice and development as well as how design led approaches have the potential to make the policy process more accessible to the people most affected by it. To develop policy more responsive to their needs and experiences and to create a stronger feedback loop between policy and its impact on the ground.

The opening of the beautiful new Manukau Bus Station saw keynote speaker, Minister of Transport Phil Twyford (pictured cutting the ribbon with Mayor Phil Goff), make a commitment that central government will follow the lead shown by Auckland Transport and TSI and apply a social procurement approach to its projects.

Sponsored by the Quality Advice programme’s scholarship fund with additional support from the lab and GridAKL the symposium drew high praise from Diane Owenga, Programme Director, The Policy Project, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet who commented: “The terrific organisation of the symposium, coupling interesting participants, great speakers and case-study and tool leaders; the right mix of conceptual framing and experiencing co-design approach in group settings”. Attendees explored case studies, different ways of working and heard from leading experts such as Dr Emma Blomkamp from The Policy Lab in Melbourne. New connections created between central government and council staff was a further positive outcome and wider feedback from participants highlighted how the innovative expertise and practices being developed by

Auckland Council is attracting interest from both inside and outside the organisation. For access to the slides and resources from the symposium visit the Co-design Lab’s website: www.aucklandco-lab.nz

What next for Early Years? The much anticipated Early Years Challenge summary report was launched at an event at the Māngere Arts Centre with keynote speaker Children’s Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft praising TSI for its “very interesting and impressive” work. The report summarises the learnings from the challenge and recommends what others can do to create positive transformation in young lives in South Auckland. It is hoped it will inform the work of community groups, agencies and other interested people to better understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities for parents and families. The report is certainly attracting a lot of interest from government agencies and advocates. We have also received two years funding from SKIP (Oranga Tamariki) for the Making Home Outside Home Early Years project which will start, in collaboration with council’s community services, in the local board areas of Māngere-Otāhuhu and Manurewa.

Moving on up(south) Upsouth, TSI’s digital crowd platform, now has nearly 3000 users and continues to impress. It won Auckland Council’s 2018 supreme Engagement Awards and is a finalist in the Digital Equity and Accessibility category of International Data Corporation’s (IDC’s) Smart City Asia and Pacific Awards. The awards showcase the area’s best smart city projects and upsouth is one of four finalists with the other entries from China and the Philippines. Upsouth users, mainly young Māori and Pasifika aged between 15 and 24, respond to questions or callups sponsored by community, business and government agencies who want to support a youth voice and get feedback and ideas on a range of social, environmental, business and civic challenges. The site will soon be upgraded to make it more user friendly and help TSI scale the initiative in other parts of Auckland, possibly across the country. Find out more at www.upsouth.nz

Pictured above, the very proud TSI team and Councillor Penny Hulse (right) at the Engagement Awards.

Flourishing health TSI’s partnership with Healthy Families MMP is flourishing as quickly as its gardening and other projects. A further contract has been signed including funding for two more staff members bringing the team to six and great progress has been made on creating a food hub space in Papatoetoe (see illustrations below). The New World store in the area was closing for refurbishment, Panuku had some spare land right next to one of Auckland Teaching Gardens (ATC) site (pictured) and TSI/HFMMP saw the opportunity to create a community-led food hub prototyping sustainable ways to deal with surplus food and make good food accessible, desirable and affordable for whānau. The food hub, expected to be up and running in the next couple of months also aims to create a model that helps alleviate worry about not having enough, good food and to influence behaviour change and policy making towards a sustainable food system. A South Auckland Advocacy Working Group has been established to increase community voice and insights into decisions on cycle and walkways across the city. The TSI HPMMP team was delighted when Auckland Transport amended its food and drink policy to align with council guidelines and reduce the amount of sugar sweetened beverages on offer. As a result of that decision, more than 100 new AT vending machines across Auckland will now limit the number of sugar sweetened drinks available and the size of the drinks available will also be cut. Meanwhile the team continues to engage with local boards to secure ongoing support and partnership for replacing sugar sweetened drinks with water in council facilities and at council events.

Techie rangatahi As part of its work with CCOs, central government and units across Auckland Council, TSI, along with ATEED’s Māori Economic Development unit, hosted the inaugural southtecweekXLR8/18 in Manukau aimed to get more Māori and Pasifika youth into digital industries. The two-day event exposed more than 1000 rangatahi to Māori and Pacific tech industry leaders and examples of cultural stories told in the digital space with lots of opportunity for hands on experience including activations in robotics, coding, mixed reality and talking portraits. Councillor Fa’anānā Efeso Collins and Manurewa Local Board Chair Angela Dalton MCed the event, also supported by Auckland Transport and Te Puni Kōkiri. Presenters included digital innovator Ian Taylor, ‘nano girl’ Michelle Dickinson, Maru Nihoniho (a Māori gaming guru), Brittany Teei (a Pasifika innovator who launched Kidscoin), Dr Isaac Warbrick (Manu’s Journey app) and Jason Lovell from Reobot.

Showcase of local arts and crafts

A community market featuring South Auckalnd artists will be held on Saturday, July 28 from 10am to 2pm at Manukau Square, Osterley and Putney Way, Manukau. More than 20 market stalls are taking part and will feature an assortment of delicious food and beverage, unique Māori and Pasifika inspired arts and crafts, quality locally designed gifts and décor and bespoke cultural products by young entrepreneurs. There will also be live music and performances and free face painting.

This event is organised by TSI, Panuku Development Auckland and the Youth Enterprise Trust supported by Aorere College, Manurewa High School and the Ōtara-Papatoetoe and Manurewa Local Boards.

Accelerating Advancement Work in partnership with MBIE’s Pacific Economic Development and Immigration units, Ministry of Pacific People and Ministry of Education to accelerate the advancement of Pasifika people in the workforce is progressing well. Aimed at improving the average income for Pasifika in South Auckland the project now has 50 concepts for ideation following a series of workshops and open home sessions. The concept testing phase should be finished by the end of this year and if you are interested in seeing the work there’s a display at the entrance to TSI’s office in the Manukau Civic Centre, Manukau Station Rd. Visitors are always welcome.

Before attending the Early Years launch Judge Becroft visited TSI and talked to Māori and

Pasifika Trades Training trainees about their exciting work and career prospects.

Influencing to make a difference TSI continues to receive increasing levels of interest from central government agencies including the State Services Commission and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC), keen to learn about our new approaches to grappling with complex social and economic issues.

Director of Community and Social Innovation Gael Surgenor has been invited to join the DPMC’s Child Wellbeing Strategy Reference Group.

And as a result of TSI’s success in the social procurement arena, Mayor Phil Goff has supported an extension of that work to west Auckland. Funding is included in his 10 year budget to focus on providing life skills and job training in the west’s more disadvantaged

areas and applying TSI’s successful social procurement approach.