Pioneering iwi mate wareware wānanga/dementia forum

On 22 November 2024, the Foundation jointly hosted with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei a major iwi mate wareware wānanga (dementia iwi forum), attended by representatives from Iwi and leading Māori healthcare trusts and providers from across Aotearoa New Zealand.

The wānanga was the first of its kind, bringing together key stakeholders to collaboratively discuss Mātauranga Māori-inspired solutions and strategies to better support, maintain and enhance hauora and mana of kaumātua living with, or at risk of, mate wareware dementia. The all-day forum held at Selwyn Village included presentations on the challenges facing Iwi and whānau in supporting kaumātua with mate wareware, interactive workshops and shared learning on successful initiatives underway in kaumātua care, as well as insights into the dementia care provision and expertise at Selwyn Village.

As mate wareware dementia is increasing faster and at an earlier stage among Māori (strongly correlated with over-representation in deprivation statistics), the number of kaumātua living with dementia will continue to rise with the ageing of the population in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The increasing urgency around this issue therefore made the wānanga an important and timely opportunity to discuss the way forward in providing culturally appropriate and holistic health and wellbeing responses in both the short and long term.

Attendees at the pioneering mate wareware/dementia iwi forum at Selwyn Village on 22 November 2024