Professor John Oetzel’s presentation will share the baseline data from the tuakana-teina peer education project that is a result of a collaboration of five Māori health providers, the University of Waikato and the Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust.  The presentation will demonstrate the importance of social and cultural connectedness for health and social outcomes, as well as the importance of a collaborative partnership for developing innovative solutions to support positive ageing for kaumātua.