Te Ao O Rongomaraeroa

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.

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.

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. 🙂

Registration 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:

• Facebook 
• Instagram
• Twitter

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

Te 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.

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

TAOR-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! 🥳🥳🥳