This year, we were delighted with the response to our introduction of a new award - Te Tohu Reo Māori – that recognises the practice of kaiako who teach te reo Māori. We are honoured to present this award to Senior Lecturer at Eastern Institute of Technology, Hiria Tumoana. Hiria has been recognised for her commitment to teaching te reo Māori in an authentic way that is faithful to its roots, and to her community. We are excited to acknowledge Hiria as the first recipient of this prestigious award.

Deputy Director Māori, Dr Joe Te Rito was particularly impressed with Hiria’s skills in Te Reo Māori saying that she has “a gift for teaching it”. Dr Te Rito continued by saying “The proverb, ‘Te puna o te kī, te whītiki o te kī’ - (An authority on, and an activist for the language) best describes Hiria Tumoana. She has become an icon for her lifetime commitment to the revitalisation and teaching of the language (Te Reo Māori).”

Increasing the Awards diversity this year, Poppy Clapperton, General individual awardee, and Dr Phil Borell, Kaupapa Māori individual awardee, have also left the review panel inspired by their work. Poppy is the CEO of Industry Training Solutions and owner of the purpose-built All-Sorts Centre in Palmerston North. Her efforts to provide an inclusive and neurodivergent-affirming approach to education have been commendable. Poppy has been awarded the general award for achieving diversity and inclusion, for improving outcomes for Neurodiverse learners.

Senior Lecturer, Dr Phil has led the development of Te Ao Hākinakina - a new Māori sports major at UC and has successfully blended a Mātauranga Māori approach to his teaching practice, utilising pūrākau (oral traditions/storytelling) and centuries-old learning methods to enrich the student experience and reimagine the approach to sports and health education.

“A special congratulations to all the 2024 Te Whatu Kairangi awardees for their commitment to outstanding educational practice. It’s been pleasing to see the calibre of educators Aotearoa has and the mana they possess” says Selection Panel Chair, Derek McCormack. “I am particularly thrilled to acknowledge Hiria Tumoana as the first recipient of the Te Tohu Reo Māori award, and to thank the reviewers and the panel members for their dedication during the selection process.”

This year our selection panel received 23 portfolios from across the tertiary education sector, these portfolios were from a range of Universities, Polytechnics and Industry Training Organisation’s. Each portfolio went through a three-stage selection process and was reviewed by a group of 27 reviewers and multiple panels.