Te Tāpui Atawhai Auckland City Mission crowned at Diversity Awards for efforts to empower Māori

The Auckland City Mission building on Union St. Photo / Alex Burton

By RNZ

Auckland City Mission has won the Supreme Award at the 2023 Diversity Awards for its work to improve Māori outcomes.

Two years ago, the mission was gifted the name Te Tāpui Atawhai, and as part of the unveiling the organisation acknowledged its role in colonisation and apologised for the harm it had caused.

It went on to appoint a general manager Māori and set up a Māori caucus made up of 10 Māori team leaders.

Te Tāpui Atawhai general manager Māori Joanne Reidy said the changes had created a workplace that empowered Māori.

“They are allowed to be unapologetically Māori, which in turn will allow Te Tāpui Atawhai to operate in a way where Māori solutions are able to be developed and offered to the people who we support.”

Other initiatives included establishing “several programmes aimed at strengthening and healing including te reo Māori classes that acknowledge language traumas, leadership wānanga for Māori staff, a monthly pōwhiri to welcome new team members and spiritual and physical wellbeing initiatives”.

The mission also won the medium-large organisation category in the Ngā Āhuatanga o te Tiriti Tohu category at the awards, held at the Cordis Auckland on Wednesday evening.

“This mahi recognises the needs of kaimahi Māori working at Te Tāpui Atawhai as well as those accessing the organisation’s services,” Diversity Works New Zealand chief executive Maretha Smit said.

“More than 50 per cent of those people are Māori.”

Other winners at the 2023 awards included Stacey Mendonca, National Association of Women in Construction; the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment; New Zealand Steel; Warner Bros International Television Production NZ; and LawVu.

- RNZ