“I love how you keep your whānau engaged at every step of the design. Those voices are continuously being fed into your minds, into your hands. When we were in Te Whare Piringa (prototype of the maternity centre) we were constantly thinking about what the māmā, pāpā and mokopuna see in this world.” Waikato Tainui
At the recent Toitū Te Tiriti hīkoi in Te Whanganui-ā-Tara people stood side by side. You did not feel alone. You heard te reo Māori, songs and chants as people united, expressing manaakitanga, honouring the kaupapa and the tikanga of the march. A peaceful, steadfast collective. It didn't matter where you came from, everyone stood united, embracing the Kotahitanga movement - villages from all corners of the motu (country) holding fast for a better Aotearoa. You felt it, you saw it, you heard it.
At the hīkoi you would have heard and seen a resounding call for action - an intergenerational response to preserve and protect the founding document of Aotearoa, New Zealand - Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The hikoi showed generations aligned, giving voice to their collective aspirations for a better future for our mokopuna, while acknowledging the past as a vital part of shaping nationhood, today.
The concepts of communities mobilising to create a new future reality, privileging the voice of those with lived experience, and creating space for everyday people to voice their ideas and aspirations is exactly what we uphold within our work.
Here at Healthy Families [WRR] these concepts are embodied in our Village model, which is transforming the way community-led innovation takes place. The model encourages shared learning and creates spaces where practitioners can hold space for healing and reflection, fostering a sense of belonging and identity through connections to local landscapes and histories. By intentionally managing power dynamics and ensuring cultural safety, the Village model nurtures a supportive and equitable environment. It is a space where those that are engaged in the village can practice empathy, cultural competence, active listening, and conflict resolution, while addressing barriers that might hinder engagement.
Central to this approach are iterative feedback loops and co-design workshops, which ensure that solutions remain adaptive and responsive to the needs of diverse communities. This continuous engagement allows whānau to shape outcomes that truly reflect their values and aspirations, reinforcing the model’s commitment to inclusivity and shared ownership. This is what we call collectivism or kotahitanga, collective action and collective impact. It’s the essence of communities coming together, unified in purpose, to solve complex challenges and grow lasting change. We work alongside diverse groups -whānau, community leaders, and partners - to tackle systemic issues that cause harm. We see change occur when we move as one, with shared intention, focusing on “growing collective wellbeing.”
“When diverse groups come together the variety of perspectives and experiences allows us to see things that might otherwise go unnoticed. We need to celebrate diversity, encouraging decision-makers, policy analysts, and system leaders to see the true benefit of deeply listening to lived experience and practitioner wisdom. Different worldviews, diverse perspectives, and proximity to opportunity can create the conditions for change!” Mātaiawa, Innovation & Research - Rīpeka Davis
Within the Mokopuna Ora: Child Health & Wellbeing Initiative, Whānau Design Villages have been established across the region to provide critical insights to the Mokopuna Ora Strategic Leadership Group. These insights with community ideas and aspirations will guide the development of a Regional Early Years Strategy, shaping a future informed by, for, and with whānau.
At Healthy Families WRR our Whānau Design Villages recognise that people are the experts in their own lives. We believe whānau know their lives better than anyone else and that they can and should play an active role in making the decisions that shape their future.
“It helps us see clearer, and it's given us these tools and this confidence and giving back your mana, showing you that when you go to these forums, your voice does matter and they make sure that you know it does.” Pāpā Villager
“I'm listening to all these other experiences from other māmā, and I'm here, and then the doubt is leaving me like I was right… I was OK to feel how I was feeling at the time. So this was reassuring me to trust in my own instinct. Going forward, you trust that puku feeling that you get…remember that our babies are at the forefront, so everything we do will be for them and for their future.” Hapū Māmā Villager
When the needs and values of whānau are at the heart of the solutions intended to serve them, they are far more likely to actually work and advocate for the kaupapa. Whānau Design Village Coordinator and Systems Innovator Pania Millar expressed that,
“A mama started off being really shy and by the end she was presenting kaupapa with confidence. The whānau design villages are helping whānau to build confidence within themselves and the next steps are to find out how we can support them to help this growth occur beyond the villages.”
Whānau Design Villages enable everyone to forge their own social connections, creating a foundation where they feel safe to return, kōrero, and be vulnerable. Over time, these connections deepen, and whānau continue to engage, learn, and grow as individuals and as a collective. Pania also shared that another māmā said,
“I come to these kaupapa so that I can also learn about more kaupapa happening.”
It is also clear that these villages are not just spaces for growth but also for fostering accountability and shared responsibility. Former Pāpā Village participant and now Rangatahi Systems Innovator and Pāpā Village facilitator Lae Katene-Rogan has been working alongside Pāpā in generating conversations regarding the Hapūtanga journey, he expresses that:
“Whanau Design Villages have been safe spaces for pāpā (fathers) to share their experiences, including trauma and their journey. A significant gap identified is the lack of resources and inclusion for pāpā during the hapūtanga (pregnancy) journey, which has historically led to disengagement. Many pāpā shared feelings of exclusion from decision-making, a lack of acknowledgment, and challenges in forming connections during this critical time.”
Recently our whānau design villages have been focussed on the creation of a mokopuna persona, a framework to explore the hopes and dreams whānau have for their tamariki and mokopuna.
“Whānau acknowledged that they really want their mokopuna to be standing proud as Māori, but also to have those values instilled in them. To be kind and loving people.” Pania Millar
A recurring theme is the drive to reclaim mātauranga Māori—traditional knowledge and skills that may not have been passed down through generations. Whānau have expressed a strong interest in learning these skills to ensure they can teach their mokopuna, fostering sustainability and resilience within their communities.
“I think for my babies, my biggest aspirations are just, you know, kia tū kaha i roto i tō tūakiritanga.” Pāpā Villager
“Our mātauranga is beautiful. We have whānau and friends in other regions where our culture is accepted and used, even in the maternity ward. There’s just nothing here that celebrates our culture and allows us to practice it.” Māmā Villager
Young whānau said they are interested in and more likely to attend hapū wānanga with Māori services if they are available.
“We wanted wānanga with mātauranga practice like karakia, whakawātea, mirimiri, waiata, but there was just nowhere to go to do this.”
“If wānanga were offered to connect us to our cultural ways of being then I think we would have felt more connected to each other and other whānau and felt more confident.”
Mihipeka McKenzie-Mason Project Coordinator - Mokopuna Ora has been leading out Hapūtanga Wānanga with groups of māmā and pāpā exploring and designing what alternative antenatal support patheay embedded in Mātauranga Māori could look like for whānau. Whānau are given the option to choose what kaupapa they want to do and then provide feedback on what worked and what didn’t work. Some of the kaupapa delivered imcluded: self-care, mirimiri, rongoa, taonga puoro, learning how to do muka ties, antenatal education, labour and birth information and postnatal care.
“I absolutely loved everything about this wānanga. I learnt and felt so much during this. I feel a lot more prepared to be a māmā and confident in my partner to be a pāpā.”
“A sense of community and being with Whānau. As someone without any family here it's really comforting to be surrounded by lovely, welcoming people.”
These villages bring the concept of “Mokopuna Decisions” to life, creating spaces where whānau can come together, grounded in cultural values and shared aspirations, to co-design solutions that prioritise the wellbeing of future generations.
By weaving mātauranga Māori with innovative design practices, Whānau Design Villages empower whānau to make decisions that ensure our mokopuna not only survive but thrive. Whether it’s fostering cultural identity, reclaiming traditional knowledge, or addressing systemic barriers like access to immunisations, these villages remind us of our collective responsibility.
Imagine a future where every decision is rooted in manaakitanga, guided by the question, “Are we truly caring for our mokopuna?” Through Whānau Design Villages, we are creating environments where this care is visible, actionable, and transformational - ensuring our mokopuna inherit a world where they can stand proud as Māori, strong in their identity, and equipped with the tools to carry their legacy forward.
This is the vision that Whānau Design Villages champion: a future built with love, intention, and the unwavering belief that our mokopuna deserve nothing less than our best.
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