Hola, tēnā koutou katoa!
Thank you WIPCE! Thanks for giving indigenous education a global stage and audience!
World Indigenous Peoples' Conference on Education, this year in Peru
This August, with the much-appreciated support from CORE Education, I was lucky enough to travel to Cusco, Peru to be part of WIPCE 2011 (World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education).
Tamara with new friends made at WIPCE 2011, Peru:
This amazing three-yearly conference brings together some of the world’s leading indigenous organisations, students, academics, and professionals to share their stories and promote best practice for the development of programmes for indigenous peoples of the world.
WIPCE has been running for 24 years, but WIPCE Peru was the first time a non-English speaking country has hosted the conference. As you can imagine, this brought several problems. It’s true, the organisation and communication could have been better, however, the local people and the city of Cusco made up for any frustrations we may have had.
My colleague Dee Reid and I had the honour of presenting on our work Te Manawa Pou, an online te reo Māori programme for teachers in English medium schools Years 0-8. We were thrilled at the opportunity to share our methodology and experiences at an international level. We were rapt at the interest in our programme—many seeing our model as something that could easily be modified and implemented in any country, for any indigenous language worldwide.
In one word: whanaungatanga
A colleague of mine asked me to sum up WIPCE in one word, which I thought was impossible. But when he pushed me for an answer, I had to say ‘whanaungatanga’.
This is the Māori concept of a relationship based on shared experiences and working together. My professional and personal learning was immense, and I have now established numerous professional networks. But more importantly, I have made great friends from all corners of the world—all of them with a passion for and commitment to indigenous education, and all doing their best to make a difference.
Whanaungatanga is a concept that we should all take the time to explore. I believe it impacts on us every day. It influences where we live, where we work, what we like to do socially, and most importantly, what we learn. Those around us—those with whom we share relationships—are shaping who we are.
The story of Rawiri Waratini-Karena
Tamara (left), Rawiri (centre), Tamara's sister, Luana (right)
One particularly moving WIPCE workshop I attended was by David (Rawiri) Waratini-Karena.
Part of his presentation was sharing his family history. He went back through four generations of his whānau, and his story of loss of language, loss of culture, the impact of violence, gangs, drug and alcohol abuse on his whānau, moved me to tears. The sadness of what his whānau had endured and suffered resonated greatly with me, as it is a common story for many Māori in Aotearoa. However, what brought home the inspiring impact of whanaungatanga is the path Rawiri is on now. Through his professional and personal relationships, coupled with his motivation and belief in himself, he has broken that pattern. He is now a respected and inspiring lecturer at WinTec, currently working towards his PhD, and, thanks to WIPCE, someone who is now a much-loved friend. Whanaugatanga in action!
Can you see whanaungatanga in your life?
Can you think of an example of whanaungatanga in your professional or personal life that has had a profound impact on you? Is there something that has shifted your thinking, or even changed your life pathway somehow? Has there been a time where you may have been the one to form a relationship that has impacted on someone else in that way?
Leave us a comment below and share your story in the true spirit of whanaungatanga, and build relationships so we all may grow.
This was a trip of a lifetime. Thank you to CORE for allowing me this opportunity, and thank you to the people of Peru. Ngā mihi nui ki te tangata whenua o Peru me te rōpu CORE hoki. Nei te mihi aroha ki āku hoa hou ki te whenua whānui. I am a WIPCE fan for life, and I will definitely see you all again in Hawaii for WIPCE 2014!
And there's more to come…
Tamara will follow up this review with a post about indigenous education. She hopes to include a video interview with the above-mentioned Rawiri Waratini-Karena.
Tamara Bell is a National Facilitator for the Blended eLearning team and an Online Faciltator for Te Manawa Pou Te Reo Māori Online.
Tamara Bell
Latest posts by Tamara Bell (see all)
- What place does indigenous education have in your school? - December 21, 2011
- Thank you WIPCE Peru! – a review of WIPCE 2011 Peru - November 10, 2011
Thanks for sharing your experience and stories Tamara – my first experiences of working with young people over a decade ago was the turning point for me. Coupled with the relationships and shared experiences of using online communities really pushed my head into a more of a 'global space' – the rest, as they say, is history ;-)
[…] http://blog.core-ed.org/blog/2011/11/thank-you-wipce-peru-a-review-of-wipce-2011-peru.html […]
Kia Ora Tamara,
How true your whakaaro is and how special and unique are we as Maori teachers, professionals and whanau members sharing our experiences and knowledge with others.
Im currently teaching in Tai Tokerau and its inspiring to hear whakawhanaungatanga is alive and kicking…
Mauri Ora
Ngā mihi ki a koe Deanna,
Thanks for reading my blog post, it's great to get feedback. CORE has some inspirational Māori team members doing some awesome mahi for our tamariki in both Kura Kaupapa and English medium schools. Keep an eye on the CORE blog because I am sure there will be more fantastic stories being shared about the work we are doing to support kura to engage our tamariki, whanau and iwi in education.
Tamara
Check out Rawiri's latest presentation at Mai Conference, basically the same as his WIPCE workshop. It's a fantastic watch, thank e hoa for sharing this with us! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMxRBMLWOro
Kia ora Koutou
I agree with Tamara, Going to WIpce was a real eye opener. It was an opportunity to meet other indigenous cultures to network and share what is happening in Aotearoa NZ. A highlight for me was hearing similar stories in terms of the impacts of colonisation coming from around the world. We had different cultures, in other places, different languages, however our stories were the same. I became quite conscious of our differences in terms of the way Maori portray the impacts of colonisation compared to how the Peruvians do. Maori are very straight up and straight forward. We understand what happened and also know what needs to change. We are also very vocal and challenge our Government frequently. However that is not the case in South America. Nor is it the case in Australia or the USA. One of the Peruvians I met said they admire our courage and that Maori were leaders in the indigenous world. She also mentioned that to talk so openly against their government in Peru could get them shot. It highlights two things, We are very lucky in New Zealand however I still believe that it can still be 100% better. and two that the Peruvians did not come from the same environment as Maori do so to be of the political environment as well as the academic and social environment. At one of the conference presentations a Peruvian journalist came and as soon as he stepped through the door he was surounded by Police and escorted out. Although I didn't understand the language it looked like he was being interegated. However overall Good learnings humble people amazing friendships.
Ngā mihi e hoa, he mihi aroha ki a koe Rawiri x
Kia ora Tamara for sharing your wonderful experience with us. I was inspired to hear about your experiences of whānaungatanga and how this seemed to heighten your experience at WIPCE. From reading Rawiri's comments I started to think about how much mana Māori have and how their mana and unbelievable ability to stand tall after overcoming such diversity and the severe impacts of colonisation, have secured their place in our beautiful country and on the world stage. It was wonderful to hear that we, as a people, are role models for other indigenous peoples and that our progress and on-going commitment to revitilise our language and our cultural well-being is being admired by others. I am going to watch Rawiri's latest presentation and thank you for sharing this link. Thanks for being wonderful ambassadors not only for CORE Education but also for those of us committed and passionate about Indigenous Language education and revitilisation. Ngā mihi ki a koe e te teina, kia kaha tonu te mahi hirahira mo matou! Arohanui.
[…] Tamara Bell continues her review of the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference 2011 (WIPCE). See Tamara’s first post: Thank you WIPCE Peru!. […]
Kia ora ra e Tamara. Thanks for sharing your inspirational korero with us. Whanaungatanga is a huge word that does spread wide. I'm pleased to see your summary came down to this special and unique word.