Our kaupapa: aroha, manaakitanga, and Indigenous justice
Te Ao o Rongomaraeroa | National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies is committed to a Tiriti-based bicultural kaupapa that places aroha and manaakitanga at the heart of our teaching, research, community engagement, and cultural work.
Our kaupapa includes:
- Grounded in aroha and manaakitanga: We value and forefront relational, interconnected approaches to higher learning that recognise the complex, spiritual dimensions of knowledge and lived experience. This foundation guides our efforts to address and reduce racial, structural, and cultural violence against Indigenous peoples.
- Committed to mana whenua and Indigenous aspirations: Located in the rohe of Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Māmoe, and Waitaha, and the rūnaka of Ōtākou and Puketeraki, we are committed to upholding the rangatiratanga and aspirations of mana whenua to thrive as sovereign peoples. We also recognise that iwi and hapū Māori, imi Moriori, and Pacific peoples face intrastate challenges that are unique to their status as Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa.
- Prioritising scholarship on the Pacific and Indigenous justice: We prioritise scholarship that considers the geopolitics of the Pacific, its impact on the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, and the mechanisms that permit the genocide of Indigenous peoples by Global North nations, such as Palestinians by the Israeli and USA governments.
- Aligned with the University's strategic frameworks: Our approach is in line with the University of Otago Māori Strategic Framework 2030 and Pacific Strategic Framework 2022-2030 to achieve participation and success for Indigenous students in tertiary education.
- Cross-disciplinary research expertise: We offer national and global cross-disciplinary expertise on indigenous justice and restoration, te ao Māori and Pasifika approaches to peace, settler colonialism, critical whiteness and race studies, memory studies, critical peace studies, critical terrorism, pacifism, nonviolence and conflict resolution.
Trust gift and government scheme fund Centre's establishment
Te Ao o Rongomaraeroa |The National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies was established at the University of Otago in 2009 through the generosity of the Aotearoa New Zealand Peace and Conflict Studies Trust.
The Trust made a $1.25 million donation linked with the University's Leading Thinkers Initiative. The Government of the day matched this funding under the Partnerships for Excellence scheme lifting the total to $2.5million.
A formal Memorandum of Understanding underpins the relationship between the University of Otago and Aotearoa New Zealand Peace and Conflict Studies Centre Trust, which to this day remains strong and mutually supportive. In recent times, Te Ao o Rongomaraeroa has made a concerted effort to return to the principles and objectives of the MoU.
View the MoU signed between the University and the ANZPACS Trust