Last week we joined ACEM’s Manaaki Mana Kaikōkiri Hui in Rotorua, first supporting the organising rōpū to connect and align, then listening and learning alongside kaikōkiri from across the motu. A powerful reminder that meaningful change in healthcare happens step by step, through many people choosing to do things differently.

Cultural Wellbeing retreats are built around four pou: environment, safety, interconnectedness and integration. Together, they create the conditions for deeper learning, meaningful connection and practical change that can contribute to greater health equity for Māori.

As an Australian living in Te Tai Tokerau, I often sit with the discomfort of how much I still have to learn. Meeting Mereana Pou changed that discomfort into responsibility. Her teaching helped me understand the ongoing impacts of colonisation and strengthened my resolve to be part of the solution. I am not being asked to be Māori, only to keep learning, act with respect and do my best. That is the spirit we bring to every Cultural Wellbeing retreat.