A dream ’15 years in the making’

Students from Hawaii will be visiting Whakatane next week to study ‘rituals of encounter’. File photo.

Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi is partnering with University of Hawaii – Winward Community College to bring 28 students and staff to Whakatane next week as part of their studies in rituals of encounter.

Winward, in Kaneohe, Oahu, is a campus of University of Hawaii. The college looked to its longstanding relationship with Awanuiarangi to develop its first Study Abroad programme for students after establishing an on-campus Study Abroad centre earlier this year.

Hawaiian Studies faculty member Makanani Sala says Winward consistently has one of the highest percentages of native Hawaiian student enrolments in the University of Hawaii system.

'The opportunity for the college to partner across Polynesia and bring students to Aotearoa is the realisation of a dream over 15 years in the making,” she says.

'This will be the first trip abroad for the majority of students and serves to create an opportunity to expand their worldview and increase global awareness, while facilitating introspection and critical thinking.”

The group of 21 students, whose majors include Liberal Arts, Hawaiian Studies, Education and Business, will be hosted in Whakatane from Sunday March 26 until Wednesday March 29.

The group will also include Chancellor Doug Dykstra; Vice-Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Ardis Eschenberg; Hawaiian Studies faculty, Makanani and Aaron Sala; Counsellor Kaahu Alo; and administrative staff Dorene Niibu and Kahea Tani.

The students are studying rituals of encounter from around Polynesia. Their study experience will include participating in, and observing, the rituals associated with Maori protocol.

A special lecture series has been organised by Awanuiarangi as part of the students' time on campus in Whakatane, and the group will also visit local sites, including Mataatua wharenui and White Island.

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