Chapter 19: Māori Leadership, Māori Youth, and the Academy Space: Developing a Wellbeing Agenda

The tertiary environment in Aotearoa New Zealand presents challenges that can affect the wellbeing of Māori students, members of the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand. This is because the values and practices that are normative in the tertiary environment do not always sit well with Māori, who also, in tertiary spaces, are in a numeric minority. Māori leadership and wellbeing are holistically intertwined so that changes that address issues of Māori leadership can support Māori wellbeing and consequently lead to valued outcomes. This chapter describes one change-making endeavor in which Māori leadership is normalized and developed as the “Academy Space.” The Academy Space is approached through one of its research and development arms, the video project Telling It Like It Is.