For tamariki (children) and rangatahi (young people), particularly those who currently or at some stage in their lives have been in foster or residential care, participation alongside adults can be a stressful experience, fraught with tensions and anxieties. Yet it also has the potential, through reciprocity, mutual engagement, and shared learning, to uphold mana and affirm them as the experts of their own lives. The challenge is to engage rather than sidestep these complexities, and to do so reflexively and with integrity.

Kia Tika, Kia Pono – Honouring Truths is an ethical framework that was co-created with rangatahi who are care experienced. Kia Tika, Kia Pono is intended for use by organisations and others working across the range of sectors and services that seek to engage tamariki and rangatahi who are care experienced in governance, policy making, service design, research or media. Grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi and participatory rights frameworks, Kia Tika, Kia Pono centres the knowledge, voices, and priorities of rangatahi with care experience, and is given life by their passionate investment in creating positive change for tamariki and rangatahi involved with the care system. Kia Tika, Kia Pono can be found at the following link: https://voyce.org.nz/kiatikakiapono/