Finding our way back: a story of culture and commitment

I’m not an expert in biculturalism. I’m not well spoken in te reo Māori, or even my own mother tongue, German. But I’ve had the privilege of being part of a powerful cultural journey. This presentation shares the journey of Skills Active Aotearoa - an organisation that began its bicultural path over 30 years ago, and nearly lost it. In the lead-up to the 2019 reform, we got caught in the noise. System change. Pressure. Survival. Somewhere in all that, our identity slipped. By the time we set up Te Mahi Ako in 2022, we had made a commitment to return to what mattered. We started a journey - creating new roles, growing our internal cultural capability, and backing our people to lead. It was honest and hard at times. But the shift was real.