Awardee: Anna Adcock (Ngati Mutunga), Victoria University of Wellington
The Awardee will undertake the Whakaaweawe Impact and Transformation Grant titled Te Rito o te Harakeke: Collective Resilience and Relational Research with Whānau Māori.
This project supports the dissemination of doctoral research through presentation at the Indigenous Futures Unbound: Indigenous knowledges leading transformative futures conference, held on Kabi Kabi Country, Sunshine Coast, Australia, in November 2025. He Tamariki Kokoti Tau was a longitudinal Kaupapa Māori study with whānau Māori whose pēpi were born preterm. The PhD research, Te Rito o te Harakeke, followed whānau through birth, neonatal intensive care, hospitalisation, and transitions home. It illuminated whānau experiences of resilience and aroha, showing that preterm birth is not only a medical event but a collective journey of connection, cultural continuity, and Indigenous thrivance.
Presenting at this international Indigenous wellbeing conference will amplify Māori whānau voices in global spaces, strengthen Indigenous research networks, and contribute to transformative pathways for health equity. The grant will support travel, registration, and accommodation, ensuring participation in key conference sessions as well as hui with Indigenous and non-Indigenous colleagues in Australia. These engagements will extend the impact of the presentation and inform the development of a postdoctoral research programme.