YSAR core objective is to train young people to become active community volunteers in the Search and Rescue and Civil Defence Emergency Management sectors.
Our key focus in YSAR is the transfer of best practice institutional knowledge from one generation to the next, a concept of te whakawhitinga o te matauranga motuhake.
The transfer of knowledge in traditional Māori society was through rituals and transmission, with the older generation passing on knowledge to the next. A ritual marked each step in the learning process, including some form of test for the student. Group learning and cooperative teaching was the norm, with uncles, aunts and grandparents all playing important roles. In an oral culture, waiata (songs), whakataukī (proverbs), kōrero tawhito (history), pūrākau (stories) and whakapapa (genealogy) were important educative tools for transmitting an iwi’s history, values and models of behavior. https://teara.govt.nz/
There is a wealth of knowledge within the existing SAR and EM volunteer workforce, and in YSAR, we have the younger generation who are passionate about taking that knowledge into the future. Onboarding institutional knowledge helps organizations develop, efficiency, and expertise, and also assists in perpetual innovation and development. As YSAR branches out across the motu, we are reaching out to the SAR and EM sector partners to offer opportunities to those who hold the “mohiotanga motuhake” (special knowledge) and who are passionate about the transfer of that knowledge through youth development.
The recent Volunteering NZ 2022 report provided details into why people volunteer. “What motivates me is the sharing of knowledge and the interaction with people; to give back, from all the privileged knowledge and information that is shared with me – it’s not mine to keep, it’s mine to share, so that drives me. The passion and love of developing ideas and how we can do that in collaboration with others. When we volunteer, we get the aspirations of the people that we’re working with, and that sparks or continues the passion that I have for myself to be in that role.” – Māori Focus Group Participant, Northland https://www.volunteeringnz.org.nz/
2023 YSAR Branches include; Tauranga, Auckland, Waikato Central, Thames Coromandel, Wellington, and Christchurch and we will continue scaling out into other regions between 2024 – 2028 through our growth strategy. Come with us on our journey.
Learning to Survive, Thrive and Save Lives. [email protected]
