Delilah Pārore-Southon

Delilah Te Aōrere Pārore-Southon is a writer, editor, publicist and communications strategist. She creates stories, creative partnerships and wairua-filled communication strategies to grow communities and build deep connections.

She believes storytelling is a taonga, a gift from her ancestors and a tool to heal for future generations. She is a regular contributor of long-form essays, profiles, features and thought pieces for leading arts and culture publications across Aotearoa. Delilah is a staunch advocate of Māori and indigenous rights and development and is leading iwi and hapu development initiatives for Te Kuihi, in Tunatahi, Te Tai Tokerau. Her Māori development mahi sees her fostering relationships between the crown, key stakeholders and hapu crafting solutions for the way forward, in an ode to Tino-rangatiratanga.

What does leadership look like to you?

Delilah:

Leadership to me is about wairua. It is a mix of mysticism, mana, and manaakitanga, it is a concept held in the bounds of whakapapa and the whenua, and it is a process that reflects on the past to inform the future. It is rangatiratanga, a mode of being, a strong fire within, that requires dedication and acknowledges the tupuna visions that came before us.

To be a leader is to endeavour to create your own whare around your key values and personal tikanga, to weave the kete of knowledge from the past, and to amplify mana for the communities you are serving. Leadership requires direction, sacrifice, and patience. Once you build your initial foundation, things start happening and the wairua activates.

How does your community show up in your practice?

Delilah:

Community is a constant recurring theme at the heart of everything I do. It’s a line of inquiry every day, and it’ll never stop evolving. Manaakitanga, and the duality of giving and receiving, is seen in all cultures, and it’s important to me to contribute to that space and help build new rituals that nourish connectedness.

There’s a deep mauri, a life force, in the power of community, which shows up for me sometimes in unexplainable, mystic ways. And, I’ve found that as I harness that mysticism, my mana remains intact.