Our name - Manapou ki te Ao

The Kākā (a parrot native to New Zealand) as it carried the Manapou (fruit kernal) on its journey to New Zealand. This images features in the welcome area of ENZ's Wellington headquarters.

Education New Zealand’s Māori name is metaphorical and tells a story which is embedded in our brand and Ngā Manapou (our values) and how we work as an organisation.

Te whakapapa o Manapou ki te Ao – the genealogy of our Māori name – goes back to 2018 when ENZ’s Māori advisory team developed Rautaki Māori (our Māori Strategy). The name was endorsed in 2019 by the then Minister of Education.

·       Manapou – refers to the fruit kernel that nourished and sustained the Kākā (a parrot native to New Zealand) as it carried the seed in its crop on the journey from Hawaiki to Aotearoa.  

·       Ki te Ao – the word ‘Ao’ means the ‘world’ and also refers to the ‘dawn’. In Māori cosmogony, the idea of ‘Ao’ signifies dawn or a new beginning every day, new experiences, opportunities and learnings. 

Manapou ki te Ao describes how Aotearoa New Zealand education nourishes and empowers students and enables them to be the world’s next generation of problem solvers.  

Our name and the story are embedded in ENZ’s Manapou ki te Ao colour palette:

·       the deepwater blue represents the flight of the Kākā over the ocean

·       the surface blue stands for approaching land over shallow water

·       the Manapou orange is the Manapou stone brought by the Kākā

·       the East Coast sand colour alludes to the sandy shores of Aotearoa.