Following the Northern Regional Forum in March and the Central Regional Forum in May, around 100 attendees took part in discussions around diversity, wellbeing, re-engaging ākonga/learners and implementing adult language, literacy, numeracy and cultural capability programmes.

Southern Hub Manager Jennifer Leahy was pleased with how attendees found the activities and discussions on the day:

“Attendees told me they felt the event was wonderful at this challenging time; they learnt, they connected, and importantly to me, they felt valued and supported.”

Attendees were also reminded of the importance of getting together face-to-face to network and share positive strategies and practice.

“It is so valuable to be able to connect with people in person and Friday reminded me of that,” said one attendee. “Ako has enabled that to happen, and for that I’m very grateful. In this uncertain time, the opportunity to ‘down tools’ for a day, have a few laughs and hear from experts in their field was, as you say, a welcome tonic!”

The Sector Services Managers of Ako Aotearoa would like to thank the 330 tertiary education staff who attended the three Regional Forums around the country in 2023. The feedback from attendees will guide us in improving our current offerings, as well as developing new ones to better support the sector and address current issues.

A working group has been established with representatives from the three Fora, which will work on developing resources and strategies based on the discussions and suggestions. We greatly value the support from the sector and look forward to planning events for 2024.

Thanks for coming! Check out the rest of the photos here.