Keynote abstracts

Marilyn Waring's and Diane Mara's abstracts are now added to the programme site. Dr Mara will look at the experience of Pacific communities to consider the role research and the gathering of authentic evidence have in empowering communities and ethnic groups to take positive social action and increase the collective ownership of their destinies within Aotearoa New Zealand.

Dr Mara is speaking on the Sunday and will still be at the conference on the Monday and is keen to meet informally with attendees.

Note also that the Pasifika Information Management Network will be meeting during the lunch break on Monday 3 November.

Professor Waring will ponder what "research heaven" is for her, with reference to some of her widely known local and international research and work on political economy.

Dr Diane Mara announces keynote themes

See below for information on Diane Mara, keynote.

In her keynote address Diane will lay down some challenges in regards to information access by groups of people from a range of cultural, ability and social backgrounds. Access is only the first step to empowerment through knowledge. Gaining information through the use of technological tools must also serve the purpose of achieving social justice and underpin the building of more positive cross-cultural relationships, not be a means of increasing marginalisation of particular groups in society. There is some cause for hope as younger Pacific generations quickly master technology but what they access and how they use information is still an area that needs to be better understood.