Whakamanawa 2025

Join us for Whakamanawa 2025 in Rotorua on Wednesday 10 & Thursday 11 September!

Whakamanawa is a conference that inspires, encourages, and connects us bringing kotahitanga across the social sector. It's about bringing our collective knowledge, skills, and passion together so we can all return to our communities and hapori refreshed to continue
to make a real difference.

We’re calling on social services kaimahi, researchers, policy makers, and social sector leaders to submit an Expression of Interest to present a workshop or oral presentation. This is your chance to share your insights, knowledge, experiences, and research to help build the capability of our sector as we move forward together.

Let's make Whakamanawa 2025 an unforgettable event, full of fresh ideas, meaningful kōrero, and exciting opportunities for everyone in the social services sector. We can’t wait to see what you’ll bring to the table! By working together, we can make this an exceptional conference and an enriching experience for everyone in the social services community.

An important part of Whakamanawa is creating spaces for kaimahi from across our community-based social services sector to exchange and share their experience and maatauranga with others. This builds the collective capability across our workforce and is a way to be inspired, encouraged, and continue to learn and develop as a social sector hapori.

• You can choose the format of your workshop (e.g. oral presentation with Q&A, interactive activity, conversation circle or whatever you think is the best way for you to share your mahi)
• Sessions will be delivered in concurrent streams (i.e. three or four workshops happening at once, with Conference participants able to choose which to attend)
• We encourage presenters to build into your session plenty of time for interactive pātai and discussion
• We welcome workshops run by groups of presenters or solo presenters

Remember to get your Expression of Interest to us by 5pm, 9 April 2025.

Presenting at Whakamanawa 2025 offers you a unique opportunity to:

• Reflect on your mahi and share your insights to spark meaningful conversations with others
• Contribute to the growth and development of your fellow kaimahi by building collective knowledge and capability
• Celebrate the mahi you've been involved in and the positive impact it has on the lives of children, rangatahi, families, and whānau
• Showcase important kaupapa from your organisation, including research and innovations
• Receive valuable feedback and test your ideas in a supportive environment of engaged peers

We are looking for workshop presentations that are grounded in practical experiences and/or research, and which relate to one or more of the following workshop themes:

• Facilitating Inclusivity
• Innovation in Social Services
• Sustainable & Thriving Organisations
• Strengthening Your Practice
• Change Making in Our Mahi

Te Pai Ora SSPA will give a 10% discount on their conference registration to all workshop presenters who attend Whakamanawa 2025. We are not able to offer financial support for workshop preparation or to cover travel and accommodation costs to attend the Conference. You do not need to be a conference attendee to present a workshop at Whakamanawa 2025.

Submit your Expression of Interest here. If you have pātai, please get in touch with Ada Tangiora, Te Pai Ora SSPA Office Coordinator, at office@sspa.org.nz. Please submit your Expression of Interest by Wednesday 9 April.