The ‘Hope Project’ is a media initiative exploring the concept of ‘hope’ among diverse New Zealanders… with the aim to enhance hopefulness in our nation. Over the past 10+ years, feedback has emphasised the role of our history and cultural roots in fostering hope. Our Kiwi heritage, encompassing Māori and European ancestry, has strong Christian influences, which we acknowledge. We invite you to explore, share and discuss our content in the hope that this proves informative and helpful.
If not for the Christian faith there would have been no Treaty of Waitangi. At the heart of our Treaty, first signed at Waitangi in 1840, was the hope of a prosperous future together. This was also the beginning of our nationhood together. Let’s keep growing in our understanding of this Treaty, its history, and of what it does and doesn’t say, that we might speak and live in a way that is just, true and honouring of God, whose followers played such a pivotal role in bringing it together.
This video above shares a brief video reflection on Christianity and the Treaty.
Facing the wero:
How we put things right.
In early 2024, Hope Project used an AI‑derived image of a wero during a pōwhiri without rights. It breached dignity and respect. The greatest harm was not legal. It was cultural and relational. We had replaced the head of a real person — the head being the most tapu part of the body. Beyond the technical breach, this was an offence to a person, to a people, to a place, and to a living tradition. We stopped delivery of the booklet, apologised, fronted up, and entered a tikanga‑based reconciliation process — and we were shown grace we did not deserve.
This is a story about grace. The article explains what happened, how we responded, the grace we received, and what we learned.
Facing the wero:
How we put things right.
In early 2024, Hope Project used an AI‑derived image of a wero during a pōwhiri without rights. It breached dignity and respect. The greatest harm was not legal. It was cultural and relational. We had replaced the head of a real person — the head being the most tapu part of the body. Beyond the technical breach, this was an offence to a person, to a people, to a place, and to a living tradition. We stopped delivery of the booklet, apologised, fronted up, and entered a tikanga‑based reconciliation process — and we were shown grace we did not deserve.
This is a story about grace. The article explains what happened, how we responded, the grace we received, and what we learned.
Facing the wero:
How we put things right.
In early 2024, Hope Project used an AI‑derived image of a wero during a pōwhiri without rights. It breached dignity and respect. The greatest harm was not legal. It was cultural and relational. We had replaced the head of a real person — the head being the most tapu part of the body. Beyond the technical breach, this was an offence to a person, to a people, to a place, and to a living tradition. We stopped delivery of the booklet, apologised, fronted up, and entered a tikanga‑based reconciliation process — and we were shown grace we did not deserve.
This is a story about grace. The article explains what happened, how we responded, the grace we received, and what we learned.
Discover more
For a wider view of our history, including stories related to both the bicultural dynamic, and also the origin of many of our cultural values, read stories in our booklets, or listen to / watch an ever-growing collection of our cultural stories in the ‘A Minute in History’ audio and video series — both accessed here
