The Age of Manaaki: Grounding a bicultural curriculum in empathy and understanding

Tuesday 2 July: Pre-conference parallel workshop, 1:30pm – 4:30pm

Venue

Room 206-214

Facilitator

Piki Diamond
Auckland University of Technology, Auckland
pdiamond@aut.ac.nz

Presentation type

Pre-conference workshop

Overview of workshop

This workshop is currently the first workshop in a suite being developed that supports programme and paper teams to co-create a bicultural curriculum. In the workshop participants will reflect on their own philosophies and knowledge systems to reveal strategies that that encourages the practice of manaaki. This workshop calls for participants to recognise the ‘social conditioning’ that is “killing the universities” and to find their own strategies of ‘uncondition’ through care and guardianship.

Target audience

This workshop is for lecturers and academics who are interested in bridging the divide between the Western and Indigenous ways of knowing and being which, they can then apply to their own practices. This workshop offers an alternative to the neoliberal values driving globalisation to internationalisation. Instead, looking at internationalisation with indigeneity.

Outline of activities

Participants will be guided on a journey to remember and acknowledge who they come from. In groups, using the creative engagement tool, Ketso, participants will delve into the dynamics being caused by current internationalising trends and the rejuvenation of indigenous knowledge and ways of being. From this awareness of dynamics participants will begin to devise personal strategies that they are willing to adopt into their own practices, and to encourage a culture underpinned by aroha – (compassion and empathy), tika (social and environmental justice) me pono (diverse and universal truths).

Intended outcomes for participants

Participants will leave feeling more confident about working in bicultural spaces and with some strategies to how they could create a bicultural practice that is authentic to them and to their discipline.

Ideal participant numbers

Minimum 6

Sub themes and explanation

• Wellbeing and success
• Academic development
• Internationalisation and indigenisation

My research and practice as an academic developer has been guided by the teachings of tohunga (indigenous wisdom keepers) Hohepa Delamere and Dr Rangimarie Rose Pere. It adopts healing methodologies that focuses on the wellbeing of the person, and in doing so, employs manaaki – care and hospitality – as a key determinant and measure of prosperity, and wellbeing.

Development of this workshop has come from working with programme staff and listening to their needs, so they can weave mātauranga Māori into their programmes in a manner that is authentic and respectful. Welcoming non-Māori, non-indigenous peoples into indigenous worlds with kindness, reveals the commonalities shared – humanistic values of kinship and guardianship – these are at the heart of manaaki.