Toi Mai Poumatua Tama Kirikiri shares his thoughts on what Matariki means for Toi Mai as we head towards disestablishment, how this year’s theme of inclusion resonates, and plans for early morning star gazing and a boil up with his tamariki.

Q: How does this year’s theme of inclusion, embracing diversity and celebrating Matariki relate to Toi Mai?

It’s integral. When Toi Mai started [in 2021] there was a degree of the unknown. We were a new organisation tasked with a mahi that was new, going into several industries that weren’t well understood either. Through our work in education in the past, Claire [Te Tumu o Toi | Toi Mai CEO] and  I knew that that ‘inclusion’ is one aspect that is broken in our education system.

That system has for a large part being imported from Britain and has fostered a certain methodology on which to transmit knowledge, which knowledge is valuable and how someone might be assessed against that knowledge. That was from a predominantly Western perspective that has perpetuated throughout Aotearoa often at the expense of other voices – Māori, Pacific peoples, wāhine and tāngata whaikaha – and the ability of those voices to contribute to a more equitable and inclusive education system.

One of our big aims has been to empower kaimahi to understand why it’s important to raise the point when they can’t see anything in a kaupapa that talks to those groups or that reflects their learning – more often than not you’ll find it’s not even a consideration. I’m very proud that everyone at Toi Mai now understands why that’s important and has seen through their experience that these gaps in talking to those groups are everywhere.

At Toi Mai, inclusion has become a fundamental core for us as kaimahi and whānau and the way everybody cares for each other, shows manaakitanga for each other and makes sure everyone is included in our kaupapa. People see how valuable that is. You can bring your full self whatever that is to your mahi and the impact that has on your colleagues is only positive.

Q: What does Matariki mean for Toi Mai as we prepare for disestablishment at the end of 2025 as a result of the Government’s Vocational Education & Training reforms?

The whole concept of Matariki is relative to the seasons, and what we might think about the year that has gone and the year to come. As we come into these colder months of Takurua where you hunker down and wānanga, a lot of learning is done. You reflect on those who have passed and the things you may not have achieved yet. The reading of the whetū gives you a sign of what’s to come and you have the ability to plan accordingly.

If we remove the celestial elements from the Toi Mai situation, the sign is that the Government made a decision for this kaupapa to end. We have known this is coming for a long time, and while that is challenging, it has enabled us to think about who the right people are to carry some of our kaupapa forward beyond the end of Toi Mai.

We have created a lot of wonderful taonga that has had a resounding impact for the industries we represent and has a lot more to offer, such as recommendations and actions in workforce development plans, research and insight. We will pass those taonga on to another rōpū and then it is up to them to take it forward however they see fit. That will give our work a life beyond Toi Mai.

While it is hard to acknowledge that a kaupapa we are so passionate about has to end, a silver lining for me is that we will pass the gold nuggets of learning on to someone else and our Toi Mai kaimahi will take those wherever they go next.

Q: How will you and your whānau be celebrating Matariki this year?

We are going to our kids’ kura where they are doing waiata and kapa haka and a special breakfast club with whānau. My parents are leaving to go to Italy to visit cemeteries to see where our tīpuna are buried so we will go to their house for fish and chips to send them on the journey with our well wishes. I’m thinking of doing a boil up on Saturday morning and will see if I can get my tamariki out of bed early in the morning to go and get some good view of Matariki coming up over the Rimutaka Ranges.