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Te Ao O Rongomaraeroa
National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies

Call for Peace this Easter!

Te Ao o Rongomaraeroa, the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies is pleased to broadcast this timely call.

People all over the world long for peace in Ukraine and Russia, as in many other parts of the world.

We invite you to sign your name to the call on the Avaaz petitions website.

Call for Peace this Easter

For all Christians and people of good will Easter time is the celebration of the triumph of life over death and hope over despair.

We call on all Russian and Ukrainian soldiers and all politicians, organisers and workers to lay down their arms and refrain from all war efforts from the Orthodox Good Friday, 14 April, to Easter Monday, 17 April 2023.

We hope that the Easter Peace, which the front-line soldiers on both sides should celebrate together, will also mark the beginning of political peace negotiations.

People all over the world long for peace, in Ukraine and Russia, but also in many other parts of the world. The world is on the brink of both nuclear war and a climate crisis of apocalyptic proportions that we can only solve together and in peace.

Let’s support the Easter Peace with vigils and rallies around the world.
This Easter, we call on all Russian and Ukrainian soldiers and all politicians, organisers and workers to lay down their arms and refrain from all war efforts.

We call for a ceasefire from the Orthodox Good Friday, 14 April, to Easter Monday, 17 April 2023.

We hope that the Easter Peace, which the front-line soldiers on both sides should celebrate together, will also mark the beginning of political peace negotiations.

For all Christians and people of goodwill, Easter time is the celebration of the triumph of life over death and hope over despair.

The world is on the brink of both nuclear war and a climate crisis of apocalyptic proportions that we can only solve together and in peace.

Let’s support the Easter Peace with vigils and rallies around the world.

The Call is endorsed by :

  • The international organisation, ‘Religions for Peace,’
  • The nationally affiliated ‘Religions for Peace Aotearoa New Zealand’,
  • ‘Te Ao Rongomaraeroa, National Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies’, Otago University
  • Hamilton based ‘Earth Diverse,- embracing diversity’
  • The Religious Diversity Centre of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Highlighting recent publications

We are proud of all the writing that has reached publication in the last few months. In addition to Talia Marama Ellison’s recently published dissertation, “He Tatau Pounamu” in the Working Paper Series, 2023 has been a productive year for many with a number of students and alumni having recently published work.

Obinna Nweke has kindly shared with us his recently released paper which draws attention to the often neglected but significant discourse on memorialisation of famine as mass atrocities in the paper “Hunger as a weapon of war: Biafra, social media and the politics of famine remembrance“.

Joss Inton-Campbell also served as a guest editor for a special issue of Peace Review on “Transgender Intersections of Violence and Peace.” The special issue is here: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cper20/34/4 In this volume, Joss co-authored, with Dr. Mikee Inton-Campbell, laying the groundwork for the issue was titled, “Trans-ing Peace Studies: An Introduction” and interviewed a member of a global human rights advocacy organization discussing how to build justice across groups in conflict.

Furthermore, Matt Fuller, also co-authored a paper for the same special issue concerning Nazi acts of memoricide.

Please give these wonderful works a read. 🙂

New Working Paper “He Tatau Pounamu”

We are excited to announce a new submission to The Working Paper Series by alumni Talia Marama Ellison who graduated with a Master of Peace and Conflict Studies from Te Ao o Rongomaraeroa. Click to read Talia’s dissertation on “He Tatau Pounamu: An Indigenous Approach to Healing and Reconciliation” (also available in PDF format).

Free conference on Nuclear Issues and links with topics like Climate Change

two people on a beach with an explosion on the horizonRegistration is now open for our free, hybrid conference Nuclear Connections Across Oceania: Coming Together to Address Nuclear Imperialism, Nuclear Colonialism and Their Material Consequences taking place November 25 and 26 November 2022 (NZDT).

Climate change and the current war in Ukraine have brought nuclear issues back into public awareness–approximately eleven years since the last time nuclear issues filled news headlines with the onset of Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO’s) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, and forty years since the first Te Hui Oranga o te Moana nui a Kiwa (reciprocal conferences where Māori and Pacific Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific [NFIP] activists gathered to address the consequences of nuclear imperialism and nuclear colonialism in the Pacific).

Nuclear Connections Across Oceania will be held in a hybrid format online via Zoom and livestream, in person at St. Margaret’s College, University of Otago, Ōtepoti Dunedin, and in person at regional hubs.

As mentioned, the conference will be on Friday and Saturday (NZDT). Each day will run from 9:00am to 5:30pm (NZDT). You can register to attend one of the days or both.

Click here to register (all tickets are FREE). Find out more about our programme, speakers and COVID-19 Policy via the registration link or our conference webpage.

Please share with your networks via:

We are looking forward to seeing some of you in person or online this November!

Congratulations to Phd Recipient Obinna Nweke!

a portrait of ObinnaTe Ao O Rongomaraeroa would like to give a warm congratulations PhD recipient, Obinna Nweke. Obinna successfully defended his thesis on Wednesday August 10 2022 (Title: A Tale of Broken Promises: Dilemmas and Everyday Reintegration Tactics of Former Niger Delta Militants).

We are extremely proud of Obinna and all he has accomplished! We are so grateful that he chose to come to TAOR. He brought warmth and kindness to the Centre and he is forever a part of the TAOR whānau. We will be eagerly waiting to hear where life takes him next! Obinna will be graduating at the December 17 graduation.

“It has been a pleasure and honour to be part of the NCPACS family. My appreciation goes to the staff, students, and students’ association executives for the scholarly and collaborative relationship we shared. I look forward to continued collaboration and mapping out of spaces through which we can channel our research pursuits for social impact and transformative change in our communities,” Obinna shared.

End of Term Party!

end of term party poster with hands and event details As we near the end of the second semester, this is a great chance to get together, socialize, and celebrate the year! We will be doing just that at an event for ALL centre whānau including current Master’s and Ph.D. students, alumni, and staff.

If you are connected to the centre, please join us on Thursday 13th October at 5 pm in the Master’s room at the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.

New Recording ‘Aragalaya’ Up on YouTube

Opening slide for Aragalaya showing protestersAragalaya, #GoHomeGota & Sri Lanka’s unprecedented protests event recording of the in-person public lecture delivered on 26 August 2022 by Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa at the invitation of Te Ao O Rongomaraeroa Student Association is up now on YouTube. Huge thanks to Dr Hattotuwa for giving this public talk and for putting together the event recording.

Student featured in Te Pānui Taura Otago Bulletin

John Philip

“Master of Peace and Conflict Studies candidate John Philip is part way through the first year of his course, which he is completing remotely. Myanmar has been under military control since a coup in February 2021, and Philip is experiencing the effects of that on his friends and family, as they literally fight for their lives and for democracy.”

TAOR-NCPACS student John Philip was recently interviewed for a kōrero by Te Pānui Taura Otago Bulletin. Follow the link to read more: https://www.otago.ac.nz/otagobulletin/postgraduate/otago0232872.html

Pepeha Resource for Pākehā and Tauiwi

Dr Jenny Te Paa Daniel has kindly shared this useful resource on pepeha for Pākehā and Tauiwi. It is also now linked up on our blog Resources page

Pepeha for non-Māori: https://e-tangata.co.nz/reflections/pepeha-for-non-maori/

Congratulations to TAOR-NCPACS PhD Graduate Samwel Oando!

Samwel Oando in front of the Otago clocktower bulidingTAOR-NCPACS would like to give a warm congratulations PhD recipient, Samwel Oando. Sam successfully defended his thesis on Monday 11th July 2022 (Title: Space for African Women in Tackling Violent Extremism: Engendering Conflict Transformation in Kenya).

Sam wanted to extend his thanks to the centre: “It’s my pleasure to thank all the fellow students at the NCPACS with whom we journeyed together. I’m so proud of our centre, the NCPACS, the Students Association, the CRS engagements, Fika events, and above all, the collegial support I received from you all. It will be my happiness to keep the contacts and continue with any relevant networking in the future. I love you all!”

Our thanks also goes to Sam for being such a positive presence in the community, a wonderful colleague and friend! We wish Sam all the best in what awaits him in the future. He remains a cherished part of our TAOR-NCPACS family. Congratulations again, Sam! 🥳🥳🥳