Dame Rangimarie Naida Glavish (Ngāti Whātua), Stacey Morrison (Te Arawa, Ngāi Tahu) and Eva-Sky Gundry (Te Rarawa) are among eight awards recipients - including former Prime Minister Helen Clark - recognised at the Blake Awards for leadership, established in honour of champion sailor and environmentalist Sir Peter Blake, in Tāmaki Makaurau on Wednesday evening.
Dame Rangimarie Naida was awarded the Blake Meda for her outstanding achievements in implementing cultural support for Māori patients in the health system, while Clark was recognised with the Blake Lifetime Achievement Award for her lifelong commitment to advancing sustainable development, gender equality and international cooperation on the world stage. Morrison received a Blake leader award and Gundry the award for young leader.
Dame Naida Glavish
Dame Naida has been involved in advocating for greater equality for Māori in the health system for more than 30 years. As a cultural adviser, she led the development of bicultural policies and tikanga-recommended best practice guidelines. In 2017, she was made a dame in recognition of her mahi.
She says Māori health outcomes can be improved by embracing tikanga practices in hospitals, by including whānau and also offering cultural support to allow the healing process.
“It is crucial for staff to understand that there is no such thing really as an individual Māori because we are a part of a whānau, hapū and an iwi,” Dame Naida said in a Blake Awards’ video.
“And within the whānau concept, we are the youngest, we’re the brother or the sister, we’re the older or the younger. And every role in a Māori whānau is a role that holds a responsibility.”
Dame Naida says leadership requires someone to make their expectations clear and ensure they are always ethical.
“Leadership means to me one does not necessarily need to lead from the front, one could also lead from the back or lead from the middle. The point is to be able to make it clear and concise of your expectations. And that everything you do is ethical and in the interests of the collective.”
Stacey Morrison
A broadcaster of more than 30 years, Morrison was nominated for the leader award by fashion designer Kiri Nathan, who said: “Stacey unofficially mentors every Māori broadcaster, presenter, or journalist that has the good fortune of crossing paths with her during her day jobs at NZME, TVNZ, and various radio and journalism organisations. She has pioneered and created pathways for all, with a strong sense of support and care for Māori, who are by far the minority group within the media industry and are often misrepresented.
”She leads with humility and is smart enough to see and utilise the matrix of relationships around her for the betterment of all.”
Morrison says leaders inspire and bring us together.
“A great leader to me is expressed in the term Rangatira, which literally means to bring together groups. So, in weaving people together, a leader doesn’t need a fancy title, they just need to inspire people in the way they do their mahi.”
Eva-Sky Gundry
Gundry was just 16 when she launched a business aimed at empowering wahine and sharing her passion for ocean sports.
Now, Sky’s Surf School reaches up to 100 rangatahi a week across surf camps, weekly lessons, and a weekly academy programme for international students, drawing on concepts such as whanaungatanga and tuakana-teina peer mentoring to build an environment where students feel supported to try, fail, and get back up – over and over again.
Gundry says leadership for her is about community and understanding the impact of decisions.
“It’s not just thinking about what you aspire to do. It’s also the impact of your decisions on others and the direction you are going in – will it effect a change or bring benefit to your community?”
Helen Clark
The Blake Awards acknowledged Clark as one of the most powerful women in the world through her “globally-significant career in politics and international development”.
“We are incredibly proud to recognise her lifelong commitment to advancing sustainable development, gender equality and international cooperation on the world stage.”