Building a M膩ori worldview at 91影视 with Rikona Andrews
Rikona Andrews is M膩ori Communications Specialist in New Zealand.
Rikona sees the world differently from how you probably do. He grew up in what he calls a 鈥淢膩ori world bubble鈥�.
This doesn鈥檛 just mean that he spoke the language. Rikona was fully immersed in the stories and cultures passed down through generations of his whakapapa (genealogy/lineage). For Rikona, it wasn鈥檛 until his early teens that he realised most people don鈥檛 see oceans, rivers and mountains as alive with the narratives of their ancestors鈥� experience. That they don鈥檛 see beneath the concrete built around them, built upon tribal boundaries more than 1,000 years old, and the obligation to uphold the stories that bind people to place.
91影视鈥檚 Te Ao M膩ori journey
Rikona provides a M膩ori worldview guiding our Te Ao M膩ori (a world through a M膩ori lens) journey at 91影视, as our people develop a genuine understanding of Te Ao M膩ori and how to embed its principles across the organisation, both internally and in work with our clients. His perspective is the thread that connects us to iwi and mana whenua, growing our partnerships in a culturally informed way.
This journey is grounded in the values, actions and measurable outcomes in our Mahere Rautaki M膩ori strategy, which keeps us accountable on progress. It documents our commitment to embed Te Ao M膩ori and acknowledges our obligations to Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi).
Making the commitment through our Mahere Rautaki M膩ori strategy was simply the beginning. Rikona joined our team in Aotearoa as M膩ori Communications Specialist to bring the strategy to life. Real progress and depth could only be achieved through knowledge sharing from someone like Rikona, who has both lived cultural experience shaped by Te Ao M膩ori, and a practical ability to uplift organisations without alienating people along the way.
Internal shifts: From symbolism to shared responsibility
When Rikona joined 91影视, his first question was 鈥渨hat鈥檚 our karakia?鈥� (a M膩ori chant often used in the workplace to set intention and acknowledge people and place, and create a sense of respect, safety and connection). He was given a booklet with more than 10 opening and closing karakia to choose from. Of course, it meant the practice was unfamiliar and daunting, and no non-M膩ori person knew any version by heart.
What came next for Rikona was small but focused: he stripped all the versions back to one opening and one closing karakia. He focuses on educating people about the depth and meaning of the message, working with them until they can recite, understand and confidently share it with others. For Rikona, there鈥檚 no point moving on until it becomes lived practice. The change was a small but powerful step that left people wanting to learn more. It has opened the space for richer conversations in which colleagues learn the layers of the meaning in the karakia, and the practice has become normalised as a shared responsibility.
He also led a major clean鈥憉p of language and communications and now encourages staff to check M膩ori phrasing with him to ensure accuracy across regional dialects and conventions. He empowers staff through his tailored cultural capability training and resources, and mentors a cohort of M膩ori champions.
External outcomes: The three-step engagement framework
While his earlier work at 91影视 was focused on building internal foundations, Rikona is now deeply focused on showing up genuinely with iwi on projects. Guided by Te Ao M膩ori, Rikona knows that genuine partnerships aren鈥檛 formed in meetings or through job titles, but through understanding iwi (M膩ori tribes) stories and their whakapapa. His three-step engagement framework is setting the benchmark for forming meaningful partnerships:
- Pre鈥憁别别迟颈苍驳: Project teams meet internally first, sharing who they are, where they are from and who they represent, and deliberately shifting from purely professional identities to full human ones, where laughter and friendly conversation is encouraged.
- Engagement: They enter hui with mana whenua as people first, professionals second, guided by prompts like 鈥渟peak as if you鈥檙e meeting your best friend鈥檚 grandmother鈥� to soften corporate armour and allow whanaungatanga to form.
- Debrief: They debrief immediately after, before other tasks crowd in, capturing what went well, what felt off, and what needs to change so the next interaction honours iwi time and tikanga better.
As a descendant of chiefs who engaged with the Crown 鈥済ood, bad and ugly鈥�, he grew up acutely aware of both the promise and the pain bound up in partnership. He鈥檚 bringing his worldview and lived experience to create a new standard for iwi engagement on our infrastructure projects.
Penny-drop moments and looking ahead for 2026
For Rikona, the proudest moments in his role are the 鈥減enny-drop moments鈥� when colleagues truly realise that M膩ori connections to land are rooted not in aesthetics or nostalgia but in centuries鈥憃ld narratives that carry responsibility across generations, and guide decisions today.
The questions he receives have also deepened. Instead of last鈥憁inute requests for a karakia or a translation on a bid that is already locked in, project teams are involving him early, asking 鈥渨hy鈥�, 鈥渉ow鈥� and 鈥渨hen鈥� as they plan their approach.
In 2026, Rikona鈥檚 focus is on deepening what has begun. He wants more teams to embed Te Ao M膩ori perspectives from project inception rather than retrofitting them at the end.
He will prioritise relationship鈥慴uilding with iwi outside of live project cycles, aiming by year鈥檚 end to have strong, enduring relationships with at least two iwi who know 91影视 not just from tenders. Those relationships will sit alongside the measurable goals in Mahere Rautaki M膩ori, but for Rikona, they are the truest test of whether the journey is working.
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