Community Voices – What’s Your Tūrangawaewae? Part 3 [Fri 8 Apr]

Community Voices is our new webinar series where we invite people to kōrero with us on belonging and inclusion related topics. It’s about amplifying the voices and views/whakaaro of different communities from across the motu. 

Our first five webinars for 2022 are on the topic of  What’s Your Tūrangawaewae? where we gather a group of people from the community to share the stories of their tūrangawaewae.

Before the webinar each guest was given the following questions to reflect on:

1. What is your Tūrangawaewae?
2. (Māori participants) What’s the importance of this concept in Te Ao Māori?
   (Tauiwi participants) Does this (or a similar concept) concept exist in your culture?
3. What words, icons, images or objects do you use to describe your tūrangawaewae?
4. What can we do to ensure everyone in Aotearoa NZ can find and talk about their tūrangawaewae, their place of belonging?

A big mihi to our voices from the community:

• Te Huia Bill Hamilton: Kia ora tātou, my name is Bill Hamilton. I am of Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngā Rauru and Ngāti Raukawa descent. I have contributed to successful relationship building with iwi over many years. I am passionate about weaving the Te Tiriti ō Waitangi into business management and community development. I am also a Māori Advisor for Inclusive Aotearoa Collective Tāhono.
• Suveen Sanis Walgampola: Suveen is the co-founder of Duality NZ, an organisation that is exploring how young Lankans can embrace the whakapapa of their genealogy and their whakapapa here, where they have grown up in NZ. In his day job, he is a Digital Experience Analyst with Auckland City Council as well as a Mental Health Support Worker at Kāhui Tū Kaha.
• Aram Wu: Aram hails from Taiwan, having been raised in Aotearoa from a young age in both Pākehā and whāngai Māori settings. He still maintains a deep connection to Taiwan and visits his elders for the deeper knowledge of his culture. Aram has been involved in LGBTIQ+ youth development spaces within minority and migrant communities, including advocacy, mentoring, restorative justice, strength based and empowerment. He is a trained facilitator in Te Tiriti o Waitangi and a former Project Facilitator for Inclusive Aotearoa Collective Tāhono. Aram currently works with Papatūānuku Kōkiri Marae.
• Fushia Tibble: Ko Hikurangi te maunga. Ko Waiapu te awa. Ko Ngāti Porou te iwi. Anei he uri o Te Tairāwhiti. Ko Fushia ahau. I am Fushia Tibble, a Ngāti Porou descendant and a mokopuna of the East Coast of the North Island. I am the product of my home in Waipiro Bay, my schooling in Ruatoria and Tūranga-Nui-a-Kiwa, and my family. When not helping out in my community, I can be found pursuing my love of science at The University of Auckland. I am completing my Bachelors specialising in Biomedical Sciences this year and looking forward to continuing in the field.