What is the Dementia Mate Wareware Governance Ecosystem?

Governance is about helping guide in the right direction. The Dementia Mate Wareware Governance Ecosystem / Te Pūnaha Mana Whakahaere mō te Mate Wareware has been set up to help guide Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand, and Manatū Hauora - the Ministry of Health to implement the Dementia Mate Wareware Action Plan.  

The ecosystem has been established by Te Whatu Ora in partnership with Manatū Hauora - the Ministry of Health.

Our purpose

The Dementia Mate Wareware Governance Ecosystem has been designed to help navigate a clear course towards a shared vision. That vision is
"An Aotearoa New Zealand in which dementia mate wareware is prevented as much as possible; and where people living with dementia mate wareware, their family and whānau, and care partners receive the support they need to live their best possible lives, with autonomy, meaning and dignity."
 This vision is set out in "Improving Dementia Mate Wareware Services in Aotearoa New Zealand –the Action Plan".
The Dementia Mate Wareware Action Plan

The Dementia Mate Wareware Action Plan describes what is needed now and for the future to ensure people with dementia mate wareware, their whānau, caregivers, and partners receive the support they need to live their best possible lives with autonomy, meaning and dignity.  

The Action Plan was developed on behalf of, and with input and support from, the wider dementia sector in collaboration with Alzheimers New Zealand, Dementia New Zealand, the New Zealand Dementia Foundation and the Mate Wareware Advisory Rōpū. In November 2021, the Action Plan was formally endorsed by the Government.

The Action Plan has four objectives: 

  • Reducing the incidence of dementia mate wareware
  • Supporting people living with dementia mate wareware, their whānau and carers to live their best possible lives
  • Building accepting and understanding communities
  • Strengthening leadership and capability across the sector

You can read the Dementia Mate Wareware Action Plan here.

Dementia Mate Wareware Governance Ecosystem structure

The Dementia Mate Wareware Governance Ecosystem comprises two parts: the Dementia Mate Wareware Leadership and Advisory Group and the Dementia Mate Wareware Network. 
Together, they influence what happens in the broader system by providing leadership and advice to Te Whatu Ora, Manatū Hauora, and the dementia mate wareware sector on the best ways to work toward the objectives in the  Action Plan. 

 

The Dementia Mate Wareware Leadership and Advisory Group / Te Whakaruruhau mō te Mate Wareware
  • The role of the Group is to engage with the Dementia Mate Wareware Network and provide strategic advice to Government on implementing the Action Plan.
  • The Group is made up of leaders in the dementia mate wareware sector alongside representatives from Te Whatu Ora and Manatū Hauora. 
  • You can find out more about the Group here
Dementia Mate Wareware Network / Te Tūhononga mō te Mate Wareware
  • The role of the Network is to engage with and advise the Dementia Mate Wareware Leadership and Advisory Group. The Network ensures the governance ecosystem is well-connected to the broader sector. 
  • The Network is a large, broad group. It includes service providers, the workforce, people living with dementia, mate wareware and their whānau, experts and more. It is open to anyone with an interest in dementia mate wareware.
  • You can find out more about the Network here.

  

Working together
  • The Group and the Network engage and collaborate on areas of the Action Plan that the government has signalled as priorities.
  • The New Zealand Dementia Foundation supports this process by ensuring a two-way flow of information between the groups. The Foundation provides secretariat support for both the Group and the Network and also plays a role in coordinating the Network.
     

Our story

The albatross or toroa is a symbol of great navigation. Toroa navigate across vast oceans without landmarks and fly thousands of kilometres in just a few weeks, yet they find their way home.

A picture
We have used a picture of the toroa-albatross to help explain how the Dementia Mate Wareware Governance Ecosystem fits together. You can enlarge the diagram below by clicking on it.

A Whakataukī (proverb)
The New Zealand Dementia Foundation thanks Inclusive Aotearoa Collective Tāhono for sharing their whakataukī. It was gifted by Matua Associate Professor Tom Roa (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato). He was inspired by the toroa (albatross) when he was writing it. The whakataukī tracks the toroa as it soars across the seas, to its nesting sites inland, and how its flight weaves offshore and onshore together.
 

Ka hōkā a Tāhono i Uta!
Ka hōkā a Tāhono i Tai!
Ka rerea a Kōwhitiwhiti!
Ka tau ki Kōwiniwini,
Ka tau ki Kōwanawana!
Tūturu ō whiti whakamaua kia tina!
Tina! Hui e!
Taiki e!

 

As Tāhono (the collective) soars across the seas
As Tāhono (the collective) soars inland
And in leaving those places of significance in the crossing
Alights on Kōwiniwini, on Kōwanawana (places of significance to the peoples of those spaces)
Let there be an affirming of that crossing
An affirming of the settling together
So be it!