Fakakoloa he kaungāfonongá: A Tongan Perspective on Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga International Writing Retreats

• In Event: 18.015 - Diversity in Community: Indigenous Scholars Writing

Abstract

As a perspective of education, the International Writing Retreat is a tangible, spiritual, cultural and political interface of Māori, Tongan and Pasifika peoples in the western academy. This retreat brings together these kinds of scholars in an affirmative and vibrant meeting and is an indication of how we can work collaboratively as a tour de force, elegant, rich in insights, and correct in all details rather than competitively.
This interface is recognised in the Education Act 1989, which regulates the role and responsibility of university scholars to go beyond the “neutral” messages of scientific facts to contribute critically to public debates. The Act declares the freedom of scholars, including researchers and teachers, “within the law, to question and test received wisdom, to put forward new ideas and to state controversial or unpopular opinions” (section 161(2)(a). The law, also explicitly asserts that the universities accept a role as “critic and conscience of society” (section 162(4)(a)(v). These sections of the Act must provide the starting point for any discussion of the roles and responsibilities of a community of scholars in retreat to write.

Author

• Linita Manu'atu, AUT University