NZ encourages Moro, IPs to avail of scholarships

DAVAO CITY- The Government of New Zealand has opened Manaaki scholarships to Filipinos wanting to pursue masters and doctorate studies in New Zealand and they are encouraging people belonging to indigenous and Moro cultural communities to avail of the scholarship.

“We have over a thousand scholars over the past years. However, there has been a firm resolve to encourage applicants from indigenous and Bangsamoro Moslem practitioners and scholars,” says New Zealand Aid Manager Dyan Rodriguez.

Rodriguez together with New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines Peter Kell has been going around Davao City to promote the Manaaki scholarship.

Manaaki which is an indigenous New Zealand word meaning to cherish or sustain is an annual scholarship program offered to Filipinos who have not reached the age of 40 pursuing post-graduate studies.

It has benefited around 2,000 Filipinos however according to Rodriguez only three are from the Bangsamoro community.

“We hardly have any representation from the indigenous communities,” Rodriguez added.

She hopes there would be many from the cultural groups who would access the scholarship program considering that the New Zealand government has been supporting the peace process to various development projects.

“We encourage courses that contribute to the Mindanao agenda like good governance (specifically on peace and conflict studies, indigenous studies), climate change, agriculture, and renewal energy,” Rodriguez said.

The 2024 Manaaki scholarship will have 16 slots for Filipinos. It will be an online application process, all information can be found on the New Zealand embassy’s Facebook page or at the website: nzscholarships.govt.nz.

Ambassador Peter Kell said that the scholarship is not just about studying in New

Zealand but also learning how New Zealand and New Zealanders see the world.

“One of the things about New Zealand is that we have embraced our indigenous heritage and we incorporate that heritage into contemporary New Zealand in ways that people in Mindanao particularly the indigenous people and the Moro people will understand,” Ambassador Peter Kell said. (PIA)