Meet an Atlantic Fellow: Tania Pouwhare
Ngāi Tūhoe woman and Senior Fellow, Tania Pouwhare, is passionate about social equity projects.
From the Bay of Plenty in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Senior Fellow from the Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity (AFSE) program is dedicated to developing social change projects from an Indigenous world view.
Tania says the experience with the program has connected her to a range of resources which she was able to take back to her workplace.
“The fellowship has impacted my whole department, from our approaches to our work, the content of our work and future strategic engagement,” explains Tania.
It is Indigenous ways of knowing that underpin Tania’s practice as a social change leader.
“Many of the solutions for the ‘wicked problems’ we face today could very well lie within the values and knowledge systems of Indigenous peoples,” says Tania.
As a thought leader inside a system that is ‘receptive and hungry’ for new ways of thinking and doing, Tania is utilising her connection with the wider network of social change leaders.
Working in collaboration with Health Nelson and other Senior Fellows from the program, the group are working together to establish a minority supplier diversity body modelled on Supply Nation in Australia.
“The best thing about the Fellowship is the other Fellows. The collaborations with other Fellows are values-led; we’re doing these things together because we have shared values and vision, and, most importantly, we trust each other absolutely”.
Tania says many of our systems in today’s society are ready for new ways of thinking and doing, and Indigenous knowledge systems can provide new opportunities.
“Indigenous epistemology has been overlooked and untapped,” says Tania.
“All we are doing is reconnecting back to that ingenuity, entrepreneurship and innovation.”
Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity Program is an Indigenous-led lifelong, collaborative fellowship program and platform for systemic change across Australia and New Zealand.
The yearlong intensive Fellowship program hosted by the University of Melbourne in partnership with the University of Auckland, supports social change-makers to develop formal skills and networks as part of the global community of Atlantic Fellows.
NZ-based team
If you have any questions about the application process, please contact Associate Professor Melinda Webber and Associate Professor Te Kawehau Hoskins for more information.
- Associate Professor Melinda Webber
- Associate Professor Te Kawehau Hoskins