Korowai Tupu Whakapapa
Our History
Korowai Tupu was established after years of effort to recognize and promote the mana of Youth Work and youth workers. The Pathways to Professionalisation (P2P) Working Group was set up in 2012 to explore professionalizing youth work. Extensive engagement with over 600 youth workers led to the launch of Korowai Tupu.
"It’s our love of young people that drew us all into this mahi. Being involved with people when they are young grows strong communities and strong citizens."
Youth Work in Aotearoa
Youth work in Aotearoa has a rich history, reaching beyond European settlement. Two documents that explore this context are The Ethical Practice in Traditions of Youth Development in Aotearoa, an article found on Page 10 f the Code of Ethics and Ara Taiohi’s History of Youth Work Professionalisation.
The following pieces of work explored the best model for a professional association for Aotearoa and the state of the Youth Work sector in the nation:
- The P2P Phase 1 Report researched existing local and international models to help define the best model for a professional association.
- The P2P Youth Work Workforce Research Report summarised the size and make-up of the Youth Work sector (work experience, qualifications, paid/unpaid, full-time/part-time)
- Stepping Stone is a report on the Youth Work cohort of its wider 2014 National Youth Sector Survey, which compared results against the 2006 NYWNA Real Work Report.
The results of these reports, along with an extensive engagement process with youth workers across Aotearoa created the foundations for the establishment of Korowai Tupu.
Naming of Korowai Tupu
Our full name is Korowai Tupu o Ara Taiohi: Te Tōpūtanga o Ngā Kaimahi Whanaketanga. This translates to Korowai Tupu o Ara Taiohi: The Professional Association of Youth Workers in Aotearoa. The conceptual meaning behind our name is a cloak of growth.
The key words translated here are:
Korowai: Cloak (connects to Ara Taiohi whatu raranga or strategic framework)
Tupu: (noun) growth, development, seedling; (verb) prosper, originate, increase; (modifier) real, genuine, ancestral
Kaimahi: Worker
Topūtanga: Association, collective, grouping, organisation
Whanaketanga: Youth development
Aotearoa: Used when working internationally
Using Starfish focus groups and an online survey, we gathered thirty-six suggestions for the name and values that the name would need to embody. A subgroup of representatives from the Pathways to Professionalisation group and Ngā Kaihoe met to work through the list. Through this process, many of the suggestions were woven together into one. The suggested name then went through a process with our Kaihautu and our Māori founding members for their input.