Ara Mai he Tētēkura - Visioning our futures: New and emerging pathways of Māori academic leadership

Abstract

Ara Mai he Tētēkura - Visioning our futures: New and emerging pathways of Māori academic leadership is a relatively small paperback positioned as one of a series of MANU AO legacy publications. Other works from MANU AO, a national inter-university Māori Academy established from 2008 to 2011 to support Māori academic and professional advancement, include Spirit of Māori Leadership and the recently published Fire that kindles hearts: ten Māori scholars. This book takes inspiration from MANU AO leadership wānanga that took place in 2011, and is distinctive in its focus on the experiences of emerging academics as an indicator of the future of Māori academic leadership. The book's title Ara Mai he Tētēkura is explained as being drawn from the whakataukī (proverb) "Mate atu he tētē kura, ara mai he tētē kura". The meaning "when the fern frond dies, another rises in its place", encapsulates the notion of successive Māori leadership and the need for contemporary leaders to follow those leaders who have paved the way for Māori, particularly in academia.