The planet is broken because humanity is waging war on Nature, which is a suicidal act, but Indigenous knowledge systems (including Matauranga Māori), can offer solutions, according to the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres.

This webishop will examine how Māori should focus on their wellbeing first, while they can also contribute to the wellbeing of humanity because they are citizens of an interdependent, globalised world.

It will also explore and discuss the impact of planetary health on Māori, and what indigenous and local knowledge and practices that Māori health promoters and other health workers can apply to resolve these challenges at the local and global levels.

About the speakers

Huti Watson

Huti Watson is a Ngāti Porou/Tainui woman from Tairāwhiti and Hauraki. Proficient in Te Reo Māori, Huti believes that Māori principles, values and epistemologies are as relevant and important today for Māori as they were in pre-colonial times.

“During six years in a modern take of a traditional learning environment that is known as ‘Te Whare Wananga’, and through immersion in our creation stories using language, songs and dance I learnt about our traditional Māori belief systems and identity, and how they continue to shape and govern who we are as Māori today.”

Huti has a public health education background with a focus on health promotion, and a broad range of knowledge and skills across health, research and economic development. Huti is also Executive Director of an Australian-based consultancy that works on Indigenous economic development projects in Queensland.

Back home Huti holds tribal governance roles in the health, apiculture and farming industries, and is an advocate for Māori participation and self-determination in genetic research across those activities. Currently, she is working in a new role as Chair for establishing a national group to develop mechanisms for implementing Māori governance over Māori genomic data, tentatively named; Te Kāhui Māori Genomic Governance Forum. Huti is also a member of the Global Working Group on “Waiora: Planetary Health and Human Wellbeing” under the auspices of the International Union in Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE).

Huti’s undertaking is a social transformation project that uses community development practices and principles combined with Mātauranga Māori to work in an enabling way with whānau (family) and hapū (sub-tribe) within Ngāti Porou to intensify transformative, community-led action in addressing wellness. Key to this are the application of decolonisation processes, and the use of cultural frameworks to guide Māori health promotion practice in order to address the legacy of colonisation and dispossession, and the associated intergenerational trauma that Indigenous peoples experience.

Sione Tu’itahi

Sione Tu’itahi is the Executive Director of the Health Promotion Forum of New Zealand Runanga Whakapiki Ake I Te Hauora o Aotearoa (HPF). An educator, author and health promotion professional, his areas of interest in health promotion include planetary health, determinants of health, human rights, community development, public policy, and workforce development.

He is the Vice President for Communication of the Global Executive Board of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE), 2019-2022. IUHPE is a 70-year old international organisation for health promotion professionals and institutions throughout the world. Sione is also the Chair of the IUHPE Global Working Group on Waiora Planetary Health and Human Wellbeing

Awarded as the 2019 NZ Public Health Champion by the Public Health Association of New Zealand, Sione has taught at a number of tertiary educational institutions. For more than 10 years he led the building of Pacific capacity at Massey University. A former journalist and broadcaster, Sione is the author of a number of books, academic papers, and children’s stories. He is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the School of Public Health, University of Otago.

Originally from Tonga, Sione is an international advocate for social justice and human rights, including the rights of Indigenous Peoples. He was co-chair of the 2019 World Conference on Health Promotion, Rotorua, co-hosted by IUHPE and HPF, and underpinned by planetary health, Indigenous knowledge, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Facilitator:

Mereana Te Pere (Waitaha, Tapuika, Ngāti Ranginui) – Mereana has recently joined the team as a Māori Health Promotion Strategist. She comes to our organisation having worked predominantly in the education sector with Māori and rangatahi. Her future goals are in elevating the skills and knowledge of the work force to better meet the health needs and rights of Māori communities and whānau.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Participants are encouraged to participate in the exercises and material that will be disseminated before the webishop.

Contact Emma Frost for further information on emma@hauora.co.nz or 09 300 3734 or visit our website www.hauora.co.nz.