Revolution in the Wananga

Maori educator and chairman of tertiary institution Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi Professor Graham Hingangaroa Smith was a key speaker at the World Indigenous People’s Education Conference in Melbourne held in early December. A proponent of a self-described “education revolution”, Professor Smith was the first teacher of a Maori school. The system has grown from a single school in 1988 to a network of more than 80 government-funded schools. His leadership also sparked the emergence of Maori studies at universities. “We needed more Maori choices in the educational smorgasbord. It was both a reactive and proactive move,” Smith said. “We cannot talk as indigenous people about our socio-economic redevelopment without a prior education revolution.”