Monday 3rd July 2023

Dr Wayne Ngata 

Mātaiao Keynote: Reconnecting with Environmental Knowledges 

Mātaiao means to observe the world around us. It brings together the Atua Matua work Dr Ihirangi Heke has been developing over the past 15 years and Tapuwaekura have been expanding on with kaiako in Māori medium kura. It captures the essence of learning through observation in a range of environments and reconnecting with indigenous interpretations of the world to promote and advocate for relevant, grounded and meaningful ways of being and doing. There will be a workshop to follow this awesome korero later in the day.

Tuesday 4th July 2023

Dr Ihirangi Heke 

Putting the ‘Atua’ in ‘Matua’ – Putting the environment before people.

Dr Heke is of Waikato Tainui descent but was raised in the South Island mountain environment of Queenstown long before it was a popular area for local and international visitors. Over the past 25 years Dr Heke has been active in helping Māori and other indigenous groups abroad, build their own health and wellness activities based on their traditional environmental knowledge. In this capacity, Dr Heke was awarded a research grant by Johns Hopkins University to compare Systems Science and Maori Environmental Connections. Dr Heke retains an honorary research fellow position to the University of Auckland’s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and was recently contracted to consult to Google X’s diversity initiative to address unconscious bias.

Keynote Address

• Ancestral Māori concepts of health obtained from the environment
• Redefining ‘Environmental Risk’
• Production of an Indigenous ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) model
• Environmental connections between high performance sport, climate change and the NZ Police.

Melanie Riwai-Couch 

Dr Melanie Riwai-Couch (Rangitāne o Wairau, Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō) has worked for over two decades in the education sector as a teacher, a tumuaki at a kura kaupapa Māori, a senior advisor for iwi and the Ministry of Education, and an education consultant. Her experiences have provided her with an in-depth understanding of effective partnerships under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, issues of sovereignty for iwi, and how to help whānau find and use their voices in education. Dr Melanie Riwai-Couch has a Master of Education, a PhD from the University of Canterbury, and is a registered teacher.

Keynote address

Niho Taniwha is both a pedagogical model and a framework that enables educators to optimise the impact of their teaching for ākonga Māori, helping those (and all) ākonga to thrive and reach their potential as learners.

The keynote is richly culturally-imbued and based on a growing body of practice-based evidence that indicates that a school/centre/classroom culture is significantly enhanced by the development of kaiako cultural competency, strength-based approaches, and a curriculum that is contextualised, has relevance and is designed to provide scaffolding for the learner, the teacher, and the wider community.

You will be introduced to the basic principles of Niho Taniwha and show what they look like in practice. Using stories, evidence and real life experiences of ākonga. Melanie will help participants to develop a greater understanding and empathy for the realities of ākonga Māori and their whānau including some of the barriers to success and ways that these can be overcome. Some of the content may be challenging for participants. Good. Greater empathy is needed in order to critically reflect on our practice and make the changes necessary to transform the education sector to one that is high performing for all learners.

Alex Barnes 

Alex has a well-established track record of advancing the educational, social, cultural and environmental elements of wellbeing in education and health. As a Pākehā, he is interested in growing understanding and application of Te Tiriti o Waitangi across the education, non-government, government and business sectors

Alex works with TupuOra and K.I.S Education as an accredited Ministry of Education facilitator. He has just completed his PhD on co-governance in education. He has affiliations to Mātaatua, Tainui and Te Tai Tokerau regions.

Keynote address

Based on the themes from the conference, Alex’s keynote aims to reconnect and rejuvenate understandings about “why and how” Te Tiriti can be a platform for socially and culturally just teaching and learning.