Ember Innovations Pānui - May 2026

Hauhake tū, ka tō Matariki

As Matariki is soon to set in the sky, the firewood is stacked and the kūmara are stored. The season’s labour is over. This month at Ember, we’re delighted to share how we’ve been tending to our garden in preparation for a busy winter ahead. 

In this month’s pānui:

• Challenge Update
• Moemoeā Kōrero Sessions
• TheMHS Highlights
• Knowledge Hub
• Em’s Master’s Graduation
• New Team Member
• Join us for a nature walk!

From the kōrero shared in our community wānanga and working groups, clear action areas are guiding spectacular innovation supporting and uplifting neurodivergent rangatahi and their whānau, with a particular focus on FASD. These include wraparound support, system navigation, professional development for kaiako and kaimahi, and a systems-level approach to education — grounded in brain-based and mātauranga Māori-informed approaches to wellbeing and learning.

We are walking this path alongside Northland College (the homeplace for our innovation centre), with a committed rōpū that includes Ngāpuhi Iwi Social Services, Te Hauora o Ngāpuhi, NorthAble Matapuna Hauora, and Ember Innovations. This group gathers regularly, holding the vision and the heart of the kaupapa as we move into the prototyping phase.

A physical hub on the Northland College grounds is rapidly taking shape as a place of awhi and aroha, fitted out with purpose built spaces and a wider community area that whānau, kaiako and rangatahi can access with ease.

A small group of young people and whānau have been identified as an initial cohort to journey with us as we prototype the hub approach. Alongside this, a Kaiārahi role is being shaped — someone with deep roots in the community, strong whānau values, and the wisdom to help whānau find and access what they need within the wider system.

Professional development for kaiako is being scoped, with the aspiration of growing resources that can nourish other settings over time. Evaluation is also underway to track progress and strengthen the long-term sustainability of this work. We are also deeply grateful to be working with filmmaker Casey Kaa (Takitini Productions) to capture and share the story of this kaupapa. 

Hosted by Tuihana Ohia, the Moemoeā kōrero sessions showcase local innovators doing extraordinary mahi. Last week, Tuihana sat in conversation with Zane Wedding to talk Systems Change and Te Taiao. Zane spoke to the transformative effect of being a living representative of the changing system, and how in protecting te taiao, te taiao will protect us.

Kōrero sessions aren’t recorded. They invite you to join us in real time and listen to the pulse of innovation in Aotearoa. 

If you’ve missed the first few sessions, we have two coming up: 

Tuesday 26th May Ezekiel Raui, Head of Foundation at One NZ will join Tuihana for a kōrero on philanthropy and hāpori.  

Tuesday 16th June Tuihana will be joined by Shruthi Vijayakumar. Shruthi is thought leader in regenerative business and systems change. 

Earlier this month Ember Innovations facilitated a session at the TheMHS Forum in Sydney on the kaupapa of "help when you need it."

Rather than presenting to the room, we were invited by TheMHS to design and run a participatory wānanga-style process - one grounded in the way we love to work here in Aotearoa: moving people from listening into kōrero, thinking together, and building on each other's ideas in real time.

The themes that emerged were rich - putting human connection back at the centre of mental health support, shifting from risk aversion to "safe enough," breaking down silos, embedding lived experience and shared power, expanding alternatives to ED and hospital-centric care, and supporting the wellbeing of workforce and carers. Running underneath it all was a shared call for courage and permission to work differently.

It was a real privilege to share this way of working with our Australian colleagues - and, in the spirit of the pavlova, we'll happily watch them claim it as their own one day. Ngā mihi nui to everyone who joined us in the room. He waka eke noa.

Over the past seven years, Ember Innovations has supported research projects grounded in lived experience, mātauranga Māori, and emerging technologies. We are stoked to finally be celebrating our alumni and the stories behind their research on our website.

If you’re an Ember Innovations grant recipient and would like your research included, please get in touch with tatiana@emberinnovations.nz

Our colleague Emily Preston has graduated with a Masters of Technological Futures through AcademyEX - he tohu nui tēnei, and a milestone we know many of you will want to celebrate alongside us.

Emily's study tackled something close to the heart of social innovation practice: an AI-driven model to help people build their theories of change and measure the impact of their mahi auaha. It's exactly the kind of thinking needed in the world - bridging rigorous evaluative practice with accessible tools that place mana and agency in the hands of the communities and practitioners doing the mahi on the ground.

Ngā mihi hoki ki te tira o AcademyEX for fostering this kaupapa. Emily brings this curiosity, manaakitanga, and forward-looking practice into her work with us every day, and we feel privileged to have her on the Ember Innovations whānau.

Tēnā koutou katoa - please join us in celebrating her. Kei runga noa atu koe, Emily - tino pai rawa atu!

We are delighted to welcome Sabrina to the team as our new Comms Support! Sabrina is a recent graduate from Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington, where she studied International Relations and Philosophy, a combo that tells you everything you need to know about the kind of mind she brings to the table.

Those who know Sabrina best would describe her as a deep thinker and a genuinely good listener, qualities that shine through in everything she does. She has a big heart for community too, having volunteered with Student Justice for Palestine in Pōneke, an amazing rōpū she speaks of with real warmth and gratitude.

Away from her desk, Sabrina loves to paint from life: people, plants, and all the little wonders of the everyday world, finding beauty in observation and capturing the essence of a moment through colour and shape. When she's not painting, you'll find her keeping active and recharging with a good workout.

Welcome to the team, Sabrina. We are so glad you’re here!

Join us for our May walk on Friday, May 29th. We will meet at 7:45am for a 8am start at the Cornwall Park Cafe at Pohutakawa Drive and should arrive back at the cafe by 9am. We hope this is an opportunity to boost our collective wellbeing by creating connection and insight, combined with gentle exercise. RSVP is essential, please email tatiana@emberinnovations.nz to let us know you will join us.