Join us for Professor Cherian George’s Public Talk at the Business Studies (Central) Building, Massey University, BSC B1.08 COMMS Lab. Or join us virtually via the Livestream on our social media platforms.
The norms and institutions of democracy and human rights are on the back foot around the world. They clearly need to be strengthened. This work has been disrupted and delayed not only by democracy’s opponents but also from within. There are recurring, divisive debates within liberal democracies concerning how much society should tolerate discriminatory speech. This talk searches for guideposts to navigate the contested terrain between free speech and social justice.
In Dr. Usman Afzali’s talk, “Long-term Effects of Far-Right Terrorism on Muslims in New Zealand,” the enduring consequences of far-right terrorism on the Muslim community in New Zealand are explored. Drawing upon a comprehensive array of scholarly papers and research from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study, the presentation investigates the complex dynamics between far-right violence, public attitudes, and the psychological well-being of Muslim minorities. It reveals how far-right terrorism can lead to national distress, affecting community cohesion and overall well-being. Public attitudes toward Muslims in New Zealand, especially following a terrorist attack, are examined, alongside the role of national identity, media influence, and the potential mitigating role of religion. Usman Afzali’s talk offers a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted impact of far-right terrorism on Muslims in New Zealand, with implications for future research and policy considerations.
Dr. Usman Afzali is the principal investigator of the Muslim Diversity Study, currently working as a postdoctoral research fellow and lecturer at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. The Muslim Diversity Study examines social attitudes and values of Muslims in New Zealand. Usman’s research interests encompass human flourishing, diversity in religious groups, cognitive psychology (specifically memory suppression), and contemplative neuroscience.
In the Muslim Diversity Study, he leads a team of 24 research assistants and actively collaborates with numerous partners within New Zealand. Additionally, he conducts research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, and supervises graduate students at various levels (PhD, Masters, and Honours) since 2021. His teaching portfolio includes courses in statistics, research methods, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience.
Professor Dutta’s lecture, titled “Decolonization as organizing radical democracies: Centering health, resisting climate colonialism, securing food systems, and resisting hate” will be delivered in conversation with the University’s theme this coming year (2023-2024), Democracy and Civic Engagement.
The lecture will draw upon two decades of ethnographic fieldwork carried out by Mohan Dutta in struggles for Indigenous rights, migrant rights, transgender rights, anti-racism, and working-class politics, exploring the everyday habits of democracy that are sustained through community action.
The talk will outline the key tenets of the culture-centered approach as an organising framework for decolonizing democracies, attending to Indigenous, Black, and various Global South traditions for organising democracies. It will attend to the ways in which white supremacy shapes the infrastructures of settler colonial/postcolonial/neocolonial democracies, with hegemonic notions of democracy scripted into practices of extraction, expulsion, and displacement through the mobilisation of violence.
Professor Dutta will wrap up the talk by offering insights into the organising work of building transformative democracies through the co-creation of community voice infrastructures that work toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, addressing the challenges of climate colonialism, food insecurity, poverty, and digital colonialism.
CARE White Paper Launch: White Paper On Hindutva Organizations In Aotearoa on Monday, 14th August 2023 with Prof. Mohan Dutta, Balamohan Shingade & Richa Sharma.
Joins us LIVE at 7 pm NZST via Facebook and YouTube to learn more about this important CARE White Paper on the Hindutva.
CARE proudly welcomes Prof. Tanmoy Bhattacharya, Head Department of Linguistics, University of Delhi, as CARE ‘s visiting academic for the month of June 2023.
CARE extends a warm invite to all to join Prof. Tanmoy Bhattacharya’s lecture on Traditional Children’s Games in India: Reviving and Renewing Precolonial Inclusive Practices scheduled on 20th June 2023 in Manawatu in collaboration with Palmerston North City Library & Manawatu Multicultural Council (MMC)
See event details below:
CARE VISITING LECTURE SERIES: Traditional Children’s Games in India: Reviving and Renewing Precolonial Inclusive Practices with Prof. Tanmoy Bhattacharya, University of Delhi
Talk Abstract
Traditional Children’s Games in India: Reviving and Renewing Precolonial Inclusive Practices
In this talk I question the western disability studies theories of inclusion and show they can be unpacked and informed through simple notions of innovations through informality. Various traditional Indian children’s games are analysed to show how they teach us ways of including the disabled child in innovative ways. The talk addresses both the theory and politics of the condition of postcoloniality through an “attribute of subordination” reflected in the changing character of traditional children’s games in India.
DATE: 20th JUNE 2023 | TIME: 12:00 PM NZST
Venue: Second Floor, Palmerston North City Library-Central Library
@CAREMasseyNZ@mjdutt invites you to join our Visiting Lecturer talk by Prof. Tanmoy Bhattacharya @tanmoylinguist@UnivofDelhi on Traditional Children’s Games in India: Reviving and Renewing Precolonial Inclusive Practices on 20 June @ 12PM 2Flr @pncitylibrary Links below (1/4)
Platform technologies are being introduced by health providers in Aotearoa New Zealand to mediate relationships between care recipients and Home Support Workers (HSWs). They have been publicized by those providers as a potential solution to these challenges of health sector strain and ageing population. Much like in other sectors, platform technology is represented as offering autonomy for clients and empowerment for workers. This report critically investigates these claims and the broader impact of the introduction of platform technologies on the working lives of HSWs and their ability to provide dignified care for their clients. Drawing on 16 in-depth Zoom interviews and 1 focus group with Aotearoa-based support workers, we argue that technologies as currently used are exasperating pre-existing systemic failures, which have also been severely exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Synopsis: Platform technologies are being introduced by health providers in Aotearoa New Zealand to mediate relationships between care recipients and Home Support Workers (HSWs). They have been publicised by those providers as a potential solution to these challenges of health sector strain and ageing population. Much like in other sectors, platform technology is represented as offering autonomy for clients and empowerment for workers. This report critically investigates these claims and the broader impact of the introduction of platform technologies on the working lives of HSWs and their ability to provide dignified care for their clients. Drawing on 16 in-depth Zoom interviews and 1 focus group with Aotearoa-based support workers, we argue that technologies as currently used are exasperating pre-existing systemic failures, which have also been severely exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
About the Panelists:
Jan Logie is a Green Party MP based in the Mana Electorate. Jan worked for Women’s Refuge, the New Zealand University Students’ Association, the YWCA and numerous other social causes before entering Parliament in 2011. She served as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Justice from 2017-2020 with a focus on sexual and domestic violence issues, and is Green Party spokesperson for Disability, ACC, Women, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Public Services, Children, and Workplace Relations.
Dr. Andrea Fromm is a policy advisor with the NZ Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi (PSA). After receiving a PhD in political studies from the University of Otago, Andrea continued to focus on issues related to the decent work agenda. Her work has concentrated on labour markets and employment, working conditions and industrial relations and public and community services. Andrea worked with international organisations such as the ILO and Eurofound, as well as with Statistics NZ. Andrea started her career as a social worker.
CARE: Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation’s Activist In Residence Programme (AIRP) with Tina Ngata , #Aotearoa #NewZealand #Activist | 15th – 18th May 2023 | CARE, Manawatu campus, Massey University
Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation is proud to host and welcome our next Activist in Residence- Tina Ngata, an Aotearoa New Zealand activist, who will be conducting Activist in Residence public events focused around Anti-racism and will collaborate with Prof. Mohan Dutta on a CARE White Paper at CARE, Manawatū campus, Massey University.
On 4th August 32023, CARE Will be launching the White Paper Issue #18: Māori-Migrant solidarities in resisting white supremacy with Tina Ngata & Prof. Mohan Dutta.
Scroll to the CARE White Paper Section below for more details.
Bio: Tina Ngata is a Ngati Porou mother of two from the East Coast of Te Ika a Maui. Tina’s work involves advocacy for environmental, Indigenous, and human rights. This includes local, national, and international initiatives that highlight the role of settler colonialism in issues such as climate change and waste pollution and promote Indigenous conservation as best practice for a globally sustainable future.
Visit the CARE social media links below for updates :
The Tertiary Education Action Group Aotearoa @TEAGAUnion will be presenting some of the data from the Precarious Academic Work Report (PAWS) report and then hosting a short panel discussion. Precarious working arrangements are a complex, often hidden feature of academia in Aotearoa New Zealand. The report highlights that in Aotearoa we have a highly trained academic workforce who are engaged in long-term cycles of precarity, with resultant impacts on financial security, health and wellbeing. The report also adds further evidence of inequities present in the academic pipeline, with the system discouraging Māori and Pasifika academic careers, while relying on the exploitation of international student labour.
Presenting the findings of the report are:
Luke D. Oldfield
Rituparna Roy
Aimee B. Simpson
Apriel D. Jolliffe Simpson,
& Leon Salter
About our panelists:
Chlöe Swarbrick
Green Party MP for Auckland Central. Chlöe works tirelessly for bold, transformational action on the issues for which she is the Green Party spokesperson, including young people, mental health and tertiary education.
Dr. Sereana Naepi
Lecturer in Social Sciences at the University of Auckland. A Pasifika woman of Fijian and Pakeha descent, Sereana works to help other Pasifika people not only succeed but also lead purposeful, meaningful and significant lives.
Prof. Mohan Dutta
Mohan J Dutta is Dean’s Chair Professor of Communication. He is the Director of the Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE), Massey University developing culturally-centered, community-based projects of social change, advocacy, and activism that articulate health as a human right.
Executive Summary: As a Māori Expert Advisory Group (MEAG), the advice in this report for the Ministry of Health – Manatū Hauora (the Ministry) has been undertaken with a clear view of accountabilities and Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations.The MEAG was asked to provide leadership and advice on scoping a training programme for the routine enquiry of family violence, sexual violence, child abuse and neglect (FVSV), for primary health care and community providers, to benefit our whānau. Part of the brief was to examine what elements from the Violence Intervention Programme (VIP), a training programme implemented across all district health boards (DHBs), could be used in the Primary Health Care Sector. This report outlines the work undertaken over eighteen months and includes a final set of recommendations for the Ministry to consider.
In writing this report MEAG have been conscious of the multiple audiences, from ministerial and Ministry of Health observers through to whānau and health providers, as contributors.
This audience-based focus is part of the promise of reciprocity to our Māori and Pasefika providers and other organisations who provided their insights, knowledge and experience – this report is to honour their voices.
From those commitments and the desire for an open readership, the content is created to be accessible to all readers. Context explanations in several sections may seem repetitive to some experienced ministry level analytical audiences, but this stance is deliberately taken by MEAG to provide for the whole audience.
The MEAG developed a three-part approach and framework for our work, that is based on the idea of understanding and interpreting the signs from our environment and responding appropriately. The report is laid out using theseheadings – but emphasises that processes are rarely linear and cycle from, responding to our environment, regularly switching from information gathering to analysis to imagining the future back to information gathering again. The intersectionality and the contextual impact of violence inform each hui we held, and the knowledge that was shared.
Join Massey University’s Prof. Mohan Dutta along with guest HC ICA fellows and speakers Rimal N. Rimal, Gary L. Kreps and May Lwin for this second online zoom session-ICA Health Communication Division’s Conversation Series: “Conversation with HC ICA Fellows” Monday, April 25, 2022 9pm to 10:30pm EST
The #ICA #HealthCommunication Division will be sponsoring a pilot “Conversation Series” for early career scholars in the months of March and April prior to this year’s ICA conference.
The planning committee, composed of Iccha Basnyat, Nadine Bol, Edmund Lee Wie Jian and Hsuan Yuan Huang, would like to cordially invite you to join our second online zoom session on Career Advice for Early Career Scholars.
Join @MasseyUni's Prof. Mohan Dutta @mjdutt along with guest HC #ICAFellows & speakers Rimal N. Rimal, Gary L. Kreps & May Lwin for this 2nd online zoom session-#ICA#HealthCommunicationDivision's Conversation Series: "Conversation with HC ICA Fellows" 25 April @ 9-10:30pm EST
