This webinar is intended for tertiary educators, facilitators, and sector professionals who are navigating change, seeking connection, and open to sitting with the deeper truths of learning.

It will resonate with those who value reflective practice, inclusive education, and the emotional realities of transformation. Whether you’re a kaiako, a leader, or someone holding space for others, this session offers a moment to pause, honour legacy, and move forward with courage and care.

In this webinar, Vicky Beckwith reflects on a year of Manako webinars and themed months. We will honour the contributions of our presenters and consider how their insights have positioned us for the start of 2026.

Vicky is joined by Steve Bethell, whose learning journey invites us to sit with the uncomfortable truths of learning in Aotearoa New Zealand. Together, we will hear how Steve created space “so that all are not afraid to walk in Te Ao Māori”.

Presenters

Vicky Beckwith
Vicky is the Manako Principal Advisor at Ako Aotearoa, a PhD candidate with the University of Waikato, and was previously a tertiary education lecturer and leader in literacy and numeracy. For over twenty years, Vicky has supported and taught children, youth, and adults living with learning differences, with a particular focus on dyslexia, in the UK and in Aotearoa New Zealand. Connection and relationality have been vital threads in Vicky’s teaching practice and so have the experiences she’s gained through working in literacy and numeracy foundation teaching. Sitting with the deeper truths of learning and the consciousness of inequity drives Vicky to seek rich and meaningful reflection to sustain and support her teaching.

Steve Bethell
Ko wai au……ko Te Kore ko au ko au ko Te Kore,
Ko wai au, a,
ka huri te titiro ki te pitau whakarei o tōku waka ki a Takitumu i hoea mai ai e te kaiurungi e Tamatea Arikinui, ka tū au ki te pūtake o tōku maunga tipua o Kauahehei, ka titiro ki ngā wai o Papanui me Patangata e rere ki te tai e awhiowhio ana ki te whenua manatunga e tū nei tōku whare tipuna a Pukehou, ko Ngā uri o Pukututu te hapū ko Te Whatuiapiti te Iwi, tīhei mauri ora, ka kaukau a Te Huhuti ki Porirua i Awarua i te moe a Te Whatuiapiti ka puta a Kekehaunga. Ko Steve Bethell taku ingoa he kakano ahau i ruia mai i Raia’tea.

Who am I… I am Te Kore, Te Kore is me,
Who am I, and,
As I turn my gaze to the finely carved stern of my canoe of Takitumu, which was Captained by the navigator Tamatea Arikinui, I then stand at the base of my sacred mountain Kauahehei, I look to the waters of Papanui and Patangata flowing gently to the sea embracing the land on which stands my ancestral house at Pukehou, I belong to Ngā Uri o Pukututu hapū, of Te Whatuiapiti iwi, this  life force acknowledged, Te Huhuti swam to Porirua in Awarua during the slumber of Te Whatuiapiti, Kekehaunga emerged. My name is Steve Bethell, I am but a seed sown from Raia’tea.

About the Manako Programme Webinar series

Each month the Ako Aotearoa Manako programme offers a free webinar featuring subject matter experts around topics that support educators working with adult learners.

Further information can be found on the Manako Communities of Practice Facebook groups. If you're not already a member, you're invited to join.