Ahere (Te Arawa, Ngāpuhi, Muriwhenua) proudly comes from the timber town of Tokoroa and has connections to both Maketu and Te Taitokerau. She is a passionate facilitator having worked with highly vulnerable youth to gain sustainable employment and life skills, as well as hapori throughout the Taupō-Ruapehu area to improve community engagement when conducting the 2023 Census. She has also worked with whānau in the Emergency Housing sector to navigate systems in order to reach better living circumstances, on top of several student-based roles to improve experience and participation in university.
Having just come back from a long international trip around Europe, Southeast and Eastern Asia, Ahere takes these new life experiences into this new Pou Hapori role. She has a belief that anyone who is willing to learn should be given a means to learn and uses all her professional roles and networks, to help those around her to achieve that principle.
About Kanapu:
Kanapu - Accelerating Māori RSI Talent, Leadership and System Navigation Kanapu is a Māori-led initiative on a mission to ignite Research, Science and Innovation (RSI) talent and leadership across Te Ao Māori. Māori researchers, scientists and knowledge-holders are fundamental to a vibrant RSI system but the evidence shows they are largely undervalued and unsupported.
Kanapu - which means lightning or instantaneous glow - will strike at the obstacles that block Māori pathways into the RSI system. Existing professional development and leadership programmes do not address the unique needs and aspirations of the Māori RSI workforce, nor offer fit for purpose training strategies and learning solutions. The RSI system is also fragmented, making it challenging for Māori communities, businesses and organisations to connect with the right people to meet their own research needs and aspirations.
Designed and led by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga (NPM) Māori Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE), Kanapu is funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to connect and nurture a diverse puna (pool) of Māori talent in the wider RSI system and expand the impact of Vision Mātauranga.