Tū Mai Rongoā Symposium: The Countdown is On!

Whakauae Research are getting ready to host the Tū Mai Rongoā Māori Online Symposium. A significant event for anyone interested in Rongoā Māori, the symposium is being live-streamed on Wednesday the 29th of June 2022, and is free to attend (see registration link below).

The symposium was inspired through our work with the Rongoā Māori community as part of our three-year, Health Research Council-funded research project, Te Ao Rauropi: Mapping the Biosphere of Rongoā Māori.

A range of key Crown agencies will be partnering for the symposium, including the Ministry of Health, Accident Compensation Corporation, and the interim Māori Health Authority, as well as Te Kāhui Rongoā. The-one day, online event is presented in two sessions with Question-and-Answer panels at the end of each session.  The theme of the morning session is “Miria te Rongo – stimulating the senses to reach potential”. Speakers in this session include Riana Manuel, CEO, interim Māori Health Authority; Eldon Paea, Manager Māori Health, ACC and John Whaanga, Deputy Director-General for Māori Health, Ministry of Health.

The theme of the afternoon session is “Ngā Tai o Pari Ata – the incoming tides”. Speakers in this session include Pā Robert McGowan QSM and Donna Kerridge, both well-renown healers and committed advocates for Rongoā Māori.

Speakers will share current perspectives on the place of Rongoā as a taonga tuku iho in our shared commitment to improve health equity for all New Zealanders.  This symposium will look at questions such as:

• Can mātauranga Māori and Western science safely and respectfully co-exist in a national health and disability framework?
• What impact have Rongoā Māori services, offered by ACC during the past 2 years, had on health outcomes and injury recovery for our population?
• What does the ideal Crown Treaty Partnership look like for Māori in the health and disability arena and what we need to overcome the challenges?
• What does it mean for community and health professionals when hospital administration and Rongoā Māori practitioners come together?

Our speakers will be welcomed and supported throughout the Symposium by our four Pou, Lynda Toki, Marilyn Vreede, Rereata Makiha and Tohe Ashby, while the task of keeping the day running smoothly falls to MC extraordinaire Stacey Morrison.

The Symposium provides an exciting opportunity to examine our challenges and share the wealth of mātauranga Māori. We will shine a spotlight on Rongoā Māori, the critical role it plays in enhancing the wellbeing of people in Aotearoa, and how we can all work together for a better future.

To register for this event, please visit the website here.