17 September 2024
Southland Business Chamber building te ao Māori connections
The Southland Business Chamber is working to bridge a gap between the Māori and Pākeha business communities in Murihiku, and the first step is for its own staff to begin on a te reo Māori journey themselves.
“We realised there was a missing puzzle piece in our business community,” membership and stakeholder engagement manager Adam Reinsfield said.
“We’re creating a pathway for collaboration, network and teaching.“
The chamber will do this through two streams: supporting business wanting to learn about and incorporate mātauranga Māori (traditional knowledge) into their daily practices and supporting connections between the Māori and Pākeha economies.
“We’re very much at the beginning of our journey with this,” Reinsfield said, acknowledging the work the Kuma Southern Māori Business Network was already doing.
The chamber was consulting with local iwi and the business community to understand exactly what they needed.
“It’s a long journey because it’s not something we can design ourselves because we’re not Māori. Co-design is so important. We can’t do this ourselves,” he said.
From a Pākeha lens, Reinsfield felt te reo Māori had been under the radar in Murihiku and events like Te Wiki o te Reo Māori were great education opportunities for everyday Kiwis, he said.
And one of the most important lessons he had learned on his te reo journey was cultural humility.
“It’s important to sit and learn and listen, and to be open to the learning opportunity that’s in front of you.”
Training programme manager Pauline Smith said there had been a growth spurt or revitalisation of te reo in Murihiku in recent years.
“There are pockets of people doing great things.”
Chamber staff have been learning te reo and Te Tiriti principles for the past two years and Smith said she had been inspired by their willingness to learn.
On a broader scale, article two of the treaty promised to uphold Māori taonga, and language was a taonga, she said.
Chamber chief executive Sheree Carey had been supportive, encouraging staff to introduce themselves and events in te reo, Smith added.
“We want to make it visible for the business community,” Reinsfield said, “It’s not scary, its just a part of New Zealand.
“And it doesn’t take a lot.”.
The chamber team dedicated 15 minutes of their weekly staff meeting to learning a new phrase or word and then incorporated it into their daily interactions over the course of the week, Reinsfield explained.
They were also learning a waiata ahead of their first visit to Murihiku Marae later this year.
“That will be a big experience for a lot of our staff who haven’t been in that environment before,” Smith said.
The chamber will mark Te Wiki o te Reo Māori with a fully-booked Te Reo Māori for Business wānanga on Thursday.
They’ll also be sharing tips and engaging through social media throughout the week.
Source: stuff.co.nz 17 September 2024