Awardee: Alehandrea Raiha Manuel (Ngāti Porou), The University of Auckland
The Awardee will undertake the Whakaaweawe Impact and Transformation Grant titled Lalanga e Ako’ae Māori and Pacific – Weaving together the learnings of Māori and Pacific ECR knowledge holders.
Lalanga e Ako’ae Māori and Pacific is Te Fale Pouāwhina’s (TFP) inaugural interdisciplinary FONO for all postgraduate and postdoctoral Māori and Pacific scholars to gather and share their rangahau/mahi, reflect and strengthen connections. This year, 25 Early Career Māori and Pacific scholars expressed interest in being involved in a collaborative space to hōnonga (connect), moemoea (dream), mahi tahi (work together) and tauhi va (whanaungatanga).
Through the FONO, we will capture the vast discussions, challenges, enablers, and moemoea identified by Māori and Pacific early career researchers (ECRs). The resources that will be generated during the FONO, for example a digital tīvaevae and filmed interviews on academic pathways and support, will provide evidence on how structures, mentorship, resourcing, and policies might be strengthened to better support Indigenous scholars across Oceania.
It will actively reshape how academic journeys are imagined, valued, and supported, by generating knowledge that is both relational and actionable. As both digital living resources and archives, Māori and Pacific ECRs stories and visions will be carried forward, as gifts for those who will journey into future FONO spaces.