Mana Wāhine Symposium 2026
We are absolutely thrilled and so proud to announce the Mana Wāhine Symposium 2026, a free, joyful, and inclusive celebration for wāhine at every stage of life! Expect inspiring workshops, heartfelt wānanga, restorative healing, meaningful connection, and nourishing kai.
The Mana Wāhine Symposium is about creating a space for wāhine to come together, share kōrero and experiences, and support one another through the different seasons and stages of being a woman. This is a regular symposium that The HEART Movement has been putting on for the community over the years in collaboration with our Partner and Member Organisations. The HEART Movement is a community initiative and will always be community-led in everything we do.
All Mana Wāhine Symposium spaces are provided specifically for those who identify as wāhine and women. This helps us protect the purpose of the kaupapa and create spaces that are safe, empowering and affirming.
TE AO ME TE PŌ | the duality of women, of life, of the world
This year's theme is centred around the idea of Te Ao me Te Pō, the light and the dark, those lighter and heavier spaces we journey through as women, and everything that exists in between. This kaupapa is very much about embracing, supporting and uplifting wāhine.
In te ao Māori cosmology, Te Pō is the fertile darkness from which all life emerges, the realm of Papatūānuku and the space of gestation, rest, and transformation before Te Ao Mārama, the world of light. Mana Wāhine Symposium 2026 draws on this whakaaro to honour the fullness of wāhine experience: the light and the dark, the joy and the grief, the growth and the rest. Just as night gives way to dawn, Te Pō holds the wisdom, healing, and quiet strength that shapes who we become in Te Ao. This symposium creates space for both - celebrating wāhine not despite their complexity, but because of it.
Contents
The Schedule
Symposium Kaupapa
Friday 30th October
10am - 12pm: Sustaining My Mauri: a restorative session using breathwork, sound, vibration, and the setting of the vā / whanaungatanga to replenish mauri and foster collective wellbeing.
10am - 12pm: Supporting a Wahine Who Discloses at Work: build your confidence to respond safely and well when someone shares something hard.
10am - 12pm: Mentee Match-Making: meet mentors and mentees across generations and take away ideas for mentoring in your own mahi (intergenerational / youth focus).
1pm - 3pm: Planning Ahead: Empowering Whānau to Kōrero About End-of-Life Care: gentle, culturally grounded tools for conversations many of us find hard to start.
1pm - 3pm: The Founder's Journey - for Impact-Led Organisations: learn from a founder's lived experience of building and sustaining purpose-led work.
1pm - 3pm: Respectfully, No: a panel of local Pasifika women on balancing cultural expectations in professional spaces (youth focus).
6pm - 8pm: Menopause Panel: a candid and supportive kōrero where wāhine share lived experiences of menopause alongside clinical insight, offering connection, practical guidance and reassurance for anyone navigating this phase of life.
6pm - 8pm: Raranga (Weaving): A hands‑on raranga session where you'll learn traditional Māori weaving practices and create a woven piece of your own.
6pm - 8pm: Taki Lewa: Filling the Feminine Cup: reflective, indigenous‑grounded exploration of restoring Yin within Yang‑dominant systems (young adult focus - R18).
Saturday 31st October
10am - 12pm: Waiata and Vibes: a gathering to connect through song — singing for healing, hope, kotahitanga, and joy (intergenerational / youth focus).
10am - 12pm: Mana o te Wahine: a creative, embodied workshop guiding wāhine to express their inner light and shade through writing and speaking practices, offering simple processes to spark clarity, intention and everyday action.
10am - 12pm: Becoming Her: Blossoming as Femme Queens: an interactive, youth‑focused session where Pacific trans and MVPFAFFF+ femme queens guide rangatahi through storytelling, reflection and talanoa to explore identity, belonging and becoming.
1pm - 3pm: Koru Group: Join our famed Koru group for TE AO ME TE PŌ, a gentle session honouring the light and dark in every wāhine, where the only two rules are no judgement and no advice.
1pm - 3pm: Ringa Rau: Perinatal Mental Health: a courageous, culturally grounded workshop exploring perinatal mental health through the impacts of colonisation and the healing role of Te Whare Pora.
1pm - 3pm: Weaving Your Wellbeing: a creative, youth‑focused workshop where participants weave their own wellbeing mats using Te Whare Tapa Whā, building connection, insight and practical tools for hauora through shared kōrero and hands‑on expression (youth focus).
Her Space
“Her Space” is our dedicated hub at the Glen Innes Community Hall - a place for kai, kōrero, and genuine connection. You’ll also find rongoā Māori, a kids zone (with babysitters!), beautiful live music over mealtimes, a photo booth and local services showcased throughout the symposium. It’s a space where you can pause, recharge, and learn about services and organisations you might not otherwise encounter, all just a short walk from every session.
Celebration Ball
It won’t all be serious conversations, we are so excited to be ending the Mana Wāhine Symposium with a full Celebration Ball again! Check out the vibe from last years amazing ball in this album on Facebook. This year think fancy fits, a photographer, photo booth, 360° video booth, kai, a female DJ, and yes… even a catwalk. Our ball will run from 6pm - 10pm on Saturday 31st October. Tickets are available below!
Registrations and Professional Development
The Mana Wāhine Symposium 2026 is a FREE community event for the women of Tāmaki, proudly organised by the HEART Movement. We say if you "work, stay, study or pray" in Tāmaki (Panmure, Point England or Glen Innes), then you are a part of our community. When registering for kaupapa, please state your connection to Tāmaki and your registration will be free. We are excited to see you soon!
If you don't have an existing and real connection to Tāmaki, we will ask you - upon registration - to make a one-off contribution to the symposium, to support our kaupapa, and make this incredible event happen.
There are huge costs in creating 15 sessions over two days, and putting on the Celebration Ball.
Professional Development
Friday's kaupapa can be professional development for people who work with wāhine and whānau in Tāmaki and beyond, grounded in local practice and te ao Māori. Choose your own path across the day from six sessions:
Lead
The Founder's Journey: for Impact-Led Organisations, with Mikaela Joe. Learn from a founder's lived experience of building and sustaining purpose-led work.
Intergenerational Mentoring Expo: meet mentors and mentees across generations, and take away ideas for mentoring in your own mahi.
Support
Supporting a wahine who discloses at work: build your confidence to respond safely and well when someone shares something hard.
Preparing Together: Empowering Whānau to Kōrero About End-of-Life: gentle, culturally grounded tools for conversations many of us find hard to start.
Sustain
Sustaining Yourself in the mahi: boundaries, rest and staying well in helping roles.
Respectfully, No: a panel of local Pasifika women on navigating service, expectations and boundaries at work.
You will also connect with practitioners and organisations from across Tāmaki at Her Space, open all day Friday with kai, kōrero and connection.
Need to make the case to your manager? Invoices and receipts are available, and a certificate of attendance on request.
Sliding scale and pay it forward
If you don’t have a connection to Tāmaki, please see the recommended contribution amounts below. Each covers your registration to the symposium in its entirety.
Awhi: $20 | For those not connected to Tāmaki and on a tight budget, such as students, those on a benefit, or those with whānau to support.
Tautoko: $50 | For those not connected to Tāmaki and on a comfortable budget, for example you are in stable work, or you have some room to give.
Manaaki: $80+ | For those not connected to Tāmaki and attending as professional development. Your organisation might be paying, or you may be happy for your payment to cover your place and help fund space for other wāhine.
You can choose the amount that feels honest for your situation right now. Paying more than you need to keeps the door open for someone else.
Info on payment methods will be given upon registration. We are able to provide invoices and receipts for accounting purposes. Thank you for supporting this amazing kaupapa! If you have any questions, please contact Ren at kiaora@heartmovement.org.nz
Support the kaupapa by buying an awesome t-shirt!
Cool merch!
Rep Mana Wāhine with our Mana Wāhine T‑shirts — a stylish way to back the kaupapa and help us keep this community‑led event thriving. Every purchase contributes directly to our community and future kaupapa.
T‑shirts are available on a sliding scale - cover our costs at $20 - or contribute to the kaupapa with more! We hope offering this ensures everyone can support the kaupapa in a way that works for you. Please purchase Mana Wāhine Symposium tees here.
