Hörður Torfason, is a human rights campaigner and “artevist” from Iceland

EIT and Otago Polytechnic take great pleasure to be hosting Whanaungatanga on April, 15 and 16. The symposium focuses on innovative and applied science that is committed to the needs of communities. Each year, one of the 16 Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) hosts the symposium and this is the first time that the symposium will be held by EIT Hawke’s Bay in Taradale. “We want to showcase the breadth of innovative methods of teaching and research that are carried out in ITPs,” says Pippa McKelvie Sebileau from the organising committee.

Keynote speakers at the symposium come from all over the world. One of the keynote speakers, Hörður Torfason, is a human rights campaigner and “artevist” from Iceland. He is using his creativity to fight against corruption and inequality. Hörður made international news as the mastermind of the “Cutlery Revolution” in Iceland, where he mobilised thousands of people to protest against the political establishment by banging pots and cutlery.

Torfason will speak alongside Sally J Morgan, distinguished professor of Fine Arts at Massey University. Morgan is an internationally acclaimed conceptual artist and cultural historian, she is also an authority in socially engaged art practices, such as public or live art. Morgan is known to influence the debate on creative art as a research process and its outcome in a wide range of countries.

Also among this year’s keynote speakers is Carla Houkamau, an associate professor in the department of management and international business at the University of Auckland. Being of mixed Māori and Pākehā descent Houkamau holds a deep personal interest over the history of Māori-Pākehā relations. She currently leads the largest study of Māori financial attitudes and economic values within New Zealand.

Prospective keynote speakers are invited to submit their abstracts for presentations, artwork or performances before 10 February via the symposium website http://itpresearch.ac.nz/symposia/2019-symposium. “We encourage presentations that are ‘outside of the box’ and would welcome performances, artwork, poetry readings or visual presentations,” says Pippa. All presentations are open to the public and free for registered attendees.