EHF welcomes more than 100 Fellows in 2022

CEO Rosalie Nelson during day 2 of the August Welcome Experience. Image by Erica Austin.

During 2022, the Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF) welcomed more than 100 Fellows into the Fellowship across two Welcome Experiences in August and October in Lower Hutt. After more than two years of Covid-related delays, these two groups of Fellows, Ngā Manu Titi Rere Ao (August) and Iti Rearea (October), were finally able to meet in person to build meaningful connections and grow their understanding of Aotearoa as a bi-cultural nation and a basecamp for global impact.

The three-day immersive Welcome Experiences began with a Pōwhiri at Waiwhetū Marae in Lower Hutt, where Te Āti Awa Taranaki Whānui -  EHF’s iwi partners - welcomed Fellows and supported their introduction to tikanga Māori (Māori protocols) and Te Ao Māori (Māori Worldview). Te Āti Awa also generously gifted the two groups their names:

Ngā Manu Titi Rere Ao, which means 'The flight of the shining birds of the world' to the August group, an

Itit Rearea, which means ‘'The smallest birds can be found at the top of the tallest tree’ to the October group.

Ngā Manu Titi Rere Ao Fellows Chidinma Chukwuemeka (left) and Ian Harvey (right). Image by Erica Austin.

Ngā Manu Titi Rere Ao Fellow and Kiwi Entrepreneur Lily Stender had been waiting for two years for her ‘in-person’ EHF Welcome Experience and was delighted to finally connect kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face).

“The ‘wow’ for me was to actually meet people in person, because over the last few years I’ve met so many online, so to connect in person, to slowly get to know each other, and build that whanaungatanga, that bond, was amazing,” she said.

Fellows reflected on how their Welcome Experience had shaped their thinking about partnering with Aotearoa for impact. Ngā Manu Titi Rere Ao Fellow and International Entrepreneur Larry Tchiou (Tahiti) said there were two key lessons he would take away.

“The biggest lesson for me was definitely the Māori story, the culture, and putting into perspective Te Tiriti o Waitangi… this helped me to also think about my own story in Tahiti, and the connections between the Western part of the world and the Polynesian part of the world.” 

He adds: “The Welcome Experience really shaped my thinking about not pushing solutions into the community… but getting involved, getting to learn about the community, and asking them what they want before offering solutions,” he said.

Ngā Manu Titi Rere Ao Fellow and International Investor Sean McGrail (USA) agrees with the need to listen and learn first, noting that the Welcome Experience: “reminded me to be humble, and to listen to others.”

Also at the August Welcome Experience, International Entrepreneur Chidinma Chukwuemeka (Nigeria) said learning about Māori culture and history resonated with her because of her own ancestry and history. It also reinforced the importance of listening to others. “My biggest learning has been about people; really learning who they are, not necessarily what they do, but who they are, and learning to listen. It has shaped my thinking in a totally different way – it’s all about people and not about things.”

The importance of listening was also a key insight for Iti Rearea Fellow and International Entrepreneur Aliza Napartivaumnuay (Thailand) during the October Welcome Experience, when considering how she would look to create impact in Aotearoa. “It’s about being a good listener to understand what is it that is truly needed and for me to play a supporting role before I even want to start any new innovation.”

Iti Rearea Fellow and International Entrepreneur, Jason Mortimer. Image by Fellow Chris Gagne.

Iti Rearea Fellow and International Entrepreneur Jason Mortimer (USA), described the Welcome Experience as: “Massively informative in changing my perspective about adding rather than bringing….it’s about what can I do to come and participate, and to help and grow? Jason concludes that as a result of the Welcome Experience he has a “heightened awareness” of the journey New Zealand is on as a young country and the need to challenge his own ideas.  

As well as building an understanding of New Zealand as a bi-cultural nation, shifting mindsets is a key objective of the Welcome Experiences notes Hillary Institute and Edmund Hillary Fellowship CEO, Rosalie Nelson, who believes the Welcome Experiences will have had a profound impact on Fellows. 

“My hope is that Fellows walk away from their Welcome Experience with a huge sense of excitement for engaging with Aotearoa, but also a shift in mindset and a fresh understanding of who we are as a people and our cultural heritage - a perspective that they may not have been exposed to before.”

As well as encouraging Fellows to consider different paradigms, Rosalie notes that the Welcome Experience is designed so that Fellows develop deep connections to help build a sense of belonging, which she believes are important elements to help Fellows looking to settle in New Zealand, so that they can create impact at a faster pace.

In preparation for their Welcome Experiences and to help Fellows understand the New Zealand context, EHF facilitated a webinar by Historian Jock Phillips on the History of Aotearoa and a series of Te Tiriti o Waitangi training sessions. As part of the wider, Welcome Experience events programme, EHF worked with partners Auckland Unlimited who held in-person Business Days and NZTE who hosted networking events for Fellows. These have helped create connections and grow understanding of New Zealand’s innovation ecosystem and opportunities to create impact. 

In the first half of 2023, EHF will welcome around 200 Fellows into the Fellowship, as a community of 500+ impact-makers, committed to Aotearoa.