GIFT, the Foundation North initiative, releases its Report today, showcasing learnings for how communities and agencies can approach healing the Hauraki Gulf.
Since 2016, GIFT has sought to support entrepreneurs and innovators to test, scale and create new systems to restore the mauri of Tīkapa Moana/Te Moana-nui-ā-Toi (the Hauraki Gulf) and aligns to one of Foundation North’s Focus Areas of Regenerative Environment.
This Focus Area allows an approach to support a deeper understanding of the relationship between people and Te Taiao (the environment), as well as supporting connecting approaches to conserving, restoring and renewing the environment so that Te Taiao and people can flourish together.
Findings will be of interest to Gulf stakeholders including:
• There is a growing desire to give effect to Te Titiri o Waitangi through Mana Whenua representation, engagement and co-governance, which is a significant system change.
• Mana Whenua are hampered in fulfilling their kaitiaki obligations by over consultation, poor engagement processes, pre-Treaty settlement requirements and capacity issues.
Having mauri, which in a Te Ao Māori view, is an energy which binds and animates all things in the physical world, at the centre of GIFT’s work is bringing diversity of thought and approach, to regenerating and upholding the wellness of Tikapa Moana Te Moananui-a-Toi.
The Report also outlines GIFT funding and impact granteee stories, futher highlighting GIFT’s strategic decision to move its investment to a more holistic approach that integrates mātauranga Māori.
“This year GIFT shared learning and insights around system change in the Hauraki Gulf. GIFT grantees reported running into systemic barriers harming the mauri of moana, whenua and people,” said Peter Tynan, Foundation North Chief Executive.
“Foundation North may have been the catalyst for the G.I.F.T concept, but you will see in this report the efforts and mahi of many, many people – tangata whenua, corporates, friends and whānau, universities, scientists, entrepreneurs – and of course, our own team who have weaved each piece together in order to bring about change in the Hauraki Gulf. It is a body of work we are very proud of, and our hope is the mauri of the Gulf will be the ultimate benefactor together with the generations to come.”
In May 2020, GIFT hosted two online systems change conversations with grantees to consider potential, needs and strengths for system change in the Hauraki Gulf. Grantees were invited to a kanohi ki te kanohi session to share learning and ideas around system change.
The initiative began in 2016 as a $5m fund, with additional funding of $2m (2019) and $2m (2020) approved by the Foundation North Board. It has since received 107 applications and has granted $7,208,019 over a three-level funding model.
In 2021, GIFT will continue to support whānau/hapū/Iwi to fulfil their role as kaitiaki, support bicultural ways of working to restore mauri, and advocate for ecosystem approaches that give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Check out the report here.
