Live seminar on reclaiming Mäori place names

massey-university

Wed Jul 22 2009 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Live seminar on reclaiming Mäori place names

Wednesday, 22 July 2009, 2:49 pm
Press Release: Massey University

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

A seminar on reclaiming usage of Mäori place names such as Te Waipounamu for the South Island, and spelling Whanganui with an 'h' will be broadcast live to all New Zealand universities this afternoon.

Speaker Sir Tipene O’Regan is at the centre of the debate considering official alternative Mäori place names as a member of the New Zealand Geographic Board, and board member of the Manu Ao inter-university academy to support Mäori academic and professional leadership. He will present the seminar between 12.30pm and 1.30pm from Canterbury University as part of the academy’s weekly interactive seminars that begin today.

Sir Tipene says the seminars will feature speakers on contemporary issues and will make an important contribution towards strengthening the links between Mäori academics and Mäori professionals.

Moana Jackson will present the seminar on July 29 talking on the next steps for the foreshore and seabed issue, former Children’s Commissioner Dr Cindy Kiro presents the seminar on August 5, followed by Dr Rangi Mataamua on the subject of Mäori astronomy on August 12, then John Tamihere on the topic of Mäori representation on the proposed Auckland super city on August 19.

Manu Ao is a Massey University-led $2.5 million initiative funded by the Tertiary Education Commission and is supported by all eight universities.

Its chairman is Massey Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Mäori and Pasifika) Professor Mason Durie and academy director Dr Selwyn Katene is based at Massey’s Wellington campus.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Dr Katene says the seminars will be of interest to Mäori university staff, students, practitioners and professionals.

“The academy was established in response to the need for a well-qualified Mäori academic and professional workforce of high calibre Mäori leaders," he says. "The project has three main aims – advancing Mäori scholarship excellence, strengthening links between Mäori professionals and Mäori academics and accelerating Mäori leadership. These aims will be met through a series of academy-sponsored activities that also include lectures, leaders’ groups, forums and symposia.

“The aim of the live lectures is to expose a wide range of methodologies, areas of scholarship and research findings."
ends

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from Massey University on InfoPages.