Haimona Waititi tribal affiliations are to Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Ngāti Porou and Kai Tahu. He grew up in a small coastal, rural community near Te Kaha, in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. Being surrounded by his culture and raised within a Māori world view provided him with an ideal grounding in his life journey and aspirations.
He attended Victoria University in Wellington where he studied Māori and Psychology. He continued onto post graduate studies in Psychology at both Honours and Masters levels. He graduated with a BA, BSc (Hons-First Class) and a MSc (with Distinction). Throughout his early adult life having seen first-hand the effects of the criminal youth justice system on young Māori (in particular) prompted a focus of his Master’s thesis on this system and

finding relevant and creative ways for improvement. Passionate about community, iwi, hapū, whānau and rangatahi development, this course of study provided him with learnings that has helped shape his thinking and approach to development in these areas. Since then Haimona has worked on a number of social change innovations from community development initiatives such as Whanau Ora (Field Researcher), Enviroschools (Researcher) and Youth lead community change movements to working at The University of Waikato. He is currently working for a National Youth development initiative called Tuia that aims to empower and connect Rangatahi Māori to one another who want to make a positive contribution to their communities. 

Abstract
Tuia te Here Tangata: Tauparapara – Hidden in Plain Sight. Social Frameworks left by our Tipuna

​Tauparapara, whakatauki, tongi, etc are all gifts of wisdom our Tipuna left us to make sense of the world we live in. Some are more well known then others - some are easily understood and some not so much. However, all have a deeper meaning then what you see on the surface. Exploring the deeper meaning requires knowledge, understanding, patience and context. Interpretation of these gifts are not confined to one but are best engaged and interpreted by a collective. Understanding this deeper meaning can open frameworks of social and human development. Haimona will show how this understanding has led to a Māori Rangatahi youth development framework that is in its 8th year of existence.