Staff, students and whānau gathered in Te Tumu recently for the first wānanga to plan for an Otago delegation travelling to Rapa Nui in June. Front row: Second from left, Associate Professor Esther Willing (Kōhatu Hauora Māori) with whānau Ruby, John and Maia, tauira Ariana Davis (Law), Senior Lecturer Moira Fortin Cornejo (Languages and Cultures), tauira Te Āwhina-Pounamu-Waikaramihi (Peace and Conflict), Senior Lecturer Wahineata Smith (Te Tumu), tauira Agustina Diaz González (Medicine) and tauira Wiremu Tamati Chauvel Ngawati (Sports Science). Back row from left: Dr Zac McIvor (Archaeology), whānau Stephen Clarke, tauira Pamela Conway (Pharmacy), tauira Tyla Hill Moana (Environmental Science), tauira Oliver Gudsell (Law) and tauira Sammi Ammar (Physiotherapy).
Eight Otago tauira have been selected to join a delegation of staff and students travelling to Rapa Nui/Easter Island this June. They gathered for their first planning hui on 6 March to map out their month-long visit.
This trip is an opportunity for the tauira to share their knowledge and learn from the community, and to deepen connections between Rapa Nui and Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka - University of Otago.
The students who are going on this trip are:
- Ariana Davis (Te Kaupeka Tātai Ture - Law)
- Te Āwhina-Pounamu-Waikaramihi (Te Ao o Rongomaraeroa - Peace and Conflict)
- Agustina Diaz González (Te Kaupeka Whaiora - Medicine)
- Wiremu Tamati Chauvel Ngawati (Exercise and Sports Science)
- Pamela Conway (He Rau Kawakawa - Pharmacy)
- Tyla Hill Moana (Environmental Science)
- Oliver Gudsell (Te Kaupeka Tātai Ture - Law)
- Sammi Ammar (Te Kura Kōmiri Pai - Physiotherapy)
The experience is made possible by a Prime Minister’s Scholarship awarded to Dr Moira Fortin Cornejo, Languages and Cultures programme, and Associate Professor Esther Willing (Ngāti Toarangatira, Ngāti Koata, Ngā Ruahine, Ngāi Tahu) Director of Kōhatu Centre for Hauora Māori.
Moira and Esther have selected the students from across a range of disciplines and considered their skills and aspirations as well as their academic achievements.
The tauira and their support team of kaimahi will host kōrero and talanoa sessions with different Rapa Nui institutions open to the whole community to attend. These sessions will be determined by the expertise and knowledge of the tauira.
Now that the group is decided, they are holding wānanga to get to know one another and plan for the trip.
Physiotherapy Honours student Sammi Ammar says they are honoured to be selected for the trip and found the first wānanga a positive experience.
“Meeting my fellow scholarship recipients and University of Otago academic staff through workshops has been amazing. We all bring our own unique talents and skills which will be incredibly useful over this one-month long trip," Sammi says.
Moira and Esther visited Rapa Nui together in 2024. It was Esther’s first visit, and she says while it might geographically be the Pacific island furthest from Aotearoa, she feels it is very close to Māori culturally and linguistically.
Moira is originally from Chile and previously lived in Rapa Nui for 12 years, the Pacific island is a Chilean Territory.
“I’m thrilled to be able to share the love, appreciation and gratitude I have for the Rapa Nui community with the Otago delegation and to be finding ways to give back to a community that so openly ‘adopted me’ so many years ago,” Moira says.
The group of students and staff are going in June to celebrate the Rapa Nui version of Matariki and, because it is the tourism off-season, the local population will be more available for collaboration.
– Nā Antonia Wallace, Communications Advisor | Kaiarataki Pārokoroko
Languages and Cultures
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