Brainwave Trust Aotearoa

Our Vision
Whakamana te i tamaiti.
Brainwave’s vision is that all children in Aotearoa New Zealand are valued and nurtured so they can reach their potential.

Our Aim
At Brainwave Trust, we want every tamaiti to have the best start in life. We share scientific knowledge and indigenous knowledge in an easy-to-understand way, to help whānau raise tamariki to be the best they can be. Our expertise is in child and adolescent development, with a focus on brain development. Brainwave Trust seeks to make this knowledge accessible to all.

Our Purpose
We review scientific research and use it to create simple messages about how to support healthy development in pēpi, tamariki and taiohi.  We package these into educational programmes and share with different audiences through interactive workshops. Our workshops and wānanga seek to:

• Help parents and whanau understand what children need for the best start in life. Providing practical advice about what really matters in the early years and in adolescence, these sessions support parents and whanau to make positively support their tamariki's development.
• Help professionals who want to build knowledge and understanding of early brain development and the lifelong impact this can have on children.
• Create intergenerational change in attitudes to parenting by reaching the next generation of parents.

We also produce articles and resources on specific topics that help both whānau and people who work with tamariki and taiohi to get a better understanding of what is going on and what adults can do to support them to reach their potential. We form partnerships with other organisations to share our knowledge further. We advocate for tamariki and their whānau where societal change is needed, including through submissions to Government.

We are registered with the Charities Commission.