About this Event
Whakamānawa i Te Ara 2026 honours the founding purpose of Te Rito Foundation: the First Whanau foundation for whanau Māori in the space of care and protection intervention. It's a dual space of serving two important fundamental principles in care and protection intervention: the protection and care of tamariki mokopuna and the retention of their whanau through whakapapa integral to their identity and trajectory in the world they experience in care.
Retention of whakapapa and whanau identity is a fundamental contention to these principles that will be shared from Te Rito's longstanding position through services and research rendered, focused on restoring the parent–tamariki–whānau unit and challenging placement‑based care models that have long displaced Māori whānau.
The evening acknowledges the advocacy that has carried Te Rito from its beginnings: standing with parents, confronting systemic harm, and propositioning a Māori Family Court.
The evening is a celebratory conclusion of its ten years in this space for a new entity to be launched the same evening in Legal Advisory committed to advancing change in family law jurisprudence, tikanga Māori customary law practices for whānau Māori and contributing to a long‑term vision of a Māori Family Court.
On behalf of Te Rito Foundation, I welcome those of mutual heart, will and interest to join me in commemorating the mahi done with further to be done for whānau Māori in the Family Courts.
Nga manākitanga,
Raewyn Kapa
Te Rito Foundation
Commemorative Closing
🕑: 07:00 PM - 07:45 PM
Commemoration of 10 Years Closing
Host: Raewyn Kapa
Info: Come and celebrate in commemorating Te Rito Foundation and its mahi in the space of care and protection advocacy for whanau Māori. 6pm - 6:30pm Pre-Drinks & Canapés / 6:30pm- 9:30pm Traditional Buffet Dinner & Directors Keynote with Acknowledgements.
Postgraduate Research
🕑: 08:00 PM - 08:30 PM
Towards a Māori Family Court: Reframing Best Interests to Protect Tamariki
Host: Raewyn Kapa
Info: Proceeds from this evening supports Raewyn Kapa’s LLM (2027) and PhD (2029) research wānanga on Towards a Māori Family Court. Her LLM establishes 'why' Aotearoa needs a tikanga‑based jurisdiction: COCA’s structural bias, misinterpretation of Māori whanau, harm to mana wahine, and the need for a whakapapa‑centred best‑interests test. Her PhD advances 'how' such a court could be built—through constitutional recognition, legislative design, tikanga‑based adjudication, and nationally consistent but iwi‑grounded jurisdiction. Proceeds will fund research wānanga, iwi engagement, comparative Indigenous analysis, and constitutional and legislative modelling. The evening invites Māori legal practitioners, judges, academics, and researchers to support a kaupapa poised to reshape family justice in Aotearoa.
Wrap & Launch of New
🕑: 08:45 PM - 09:25 PM
Whakangahau & Whakawhanaungatanga - Wrap of Te Rito & Launch of New Entity
Event venue & nearby stays
Pullman Auckland Hotel & Apartments, Princes Street, Auckland, New Zealand
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.