New role focuses on University’s Māori development

25 May 2015

New role focuses on University’s Māori development

Ben Matthews is passionate about Māori development and helping Māori reach greater heights in the education and agribusiness worlds.

A descendant of Ngāpuhi, Tauranga Moana and Ngāti Porou, he is the new Māori Development Coordinator for Lincoln University and describes his role as an opportunity to make a difference to the development of the Māori agribusiness sector which “is on the brink of enormous growth”.

“It’s a very exciting time to be part of the Māori agribusiness scene as iwi across the country work through their respective treaty settlements with the Crown. We’re seeing a significant number of assets coming back into Māori ownership which presents a very real opportunity for our rangatahi Māori (young Māori).”

His newly established role is based within the University’s Lincoln-Telford Division and focuses on bridging relationships between the University and Māori organisations across the country.

“I chose this role because I wanted to help our rangatahi Māori across the country contribute to the development of Māori agribusinesses and give back to the community. I’m absolutely rapt that I have an opportunity to contribute in this way,” Ben says.

Ben works closely with Māori organisations, including iwi and Māori schools, to identify their agricultural training and agricultural human resource development needs and discuss how the University can help to meet them.

A recent example of this is Whenua Kura, a partnership between Ngai Tahu Farms, Te Tapuae o Rehua and Lincoln University to grow Māori leadership in agriculture by training cadets on Ngai Tahu-owned farms.

“We want our rangatahi Māori to set their sights higher to become farm managers and supervisors and gain a true sense of their potential and ability to be leaders within the agricultural industry,” says Ben.

Born and raised in Masterton he grew up in the Te Kōhanga Reo (Māori language nest) and Kura Kaupapa Māori (Māori language total immersion school) movements, and is a fluent speaker of te reo Māori.

“I love my culture and my language. It defines a big part of who I am as a person and this is where my passion stems from,” Ben says.

Ben has had a long involvement in the education sector. Before coming to Lincoln he worked for Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre in Masterton as the Māori Agri-business Coordinator, again working with iwi and Māori schools to coordinate collaboration and training for Māori students.

He has also worked for NZQA as an international policy advisor and Education New Zealand as a liaison advisor for international education and has a double degree in International Business and Japanese language from AUT University.

He lived in Japan for several years as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and is a fluent speaker of Japanese.

He says his new role is reflective of the direction Lincoln University is taking to place greater emphasis on its relationships with Māori.

In 2013 the University Council approved the University’s Whenua Māori Development Strategy, which focuses on advancing Māori development and achievement. It is the University’s first organisation-wide overarching Māori development strategy, sitting within the University’s overall strategic theme to grow the performance of New Zealand’s land-based industries.

It lays the foundation for directed change to support more strategic, focused and collaborative engagement with Māori stakeholders, he says.

Moreover, Ben adds, it outlines the measures the University has in place to honour its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi) to guide University decision making processes, particularly those relating to Rangatiratanga (Māori independence) and Mana Whenua (local Māori authority).

Ends

© Scoop Media