Fab Five: Big Issues at WORD Christchurch 2021

Can't decide what WORD sessions to go to? We give you 5 hot tips on a hot topic.
If you are interested in social and global big issues - here are some WORD sessions for you:

After the Tampa

It is twenty years since a Norwegian cargo ship rescued a sinking fishing boat crammed with more than 400 asylum seekers, only to be turned away from Australia, sparking an international incident. Eventually, New Zealand offered to take 150 of those refugees, including Abbas Nazari and his family. A child at the time, Abbas now tells his story in After the Tampa, from the Taliban’s brutal rule in Afghanistan, and his family’s desperate search for safety, to Georgetown University in Washington, where he is currently a Fulbright Scholar. He is joined by Helen Clark, Prime Minister at the time, who will discuss the political circumstances around the incident, and whether or not anything has changed. Chaired by University of Canterbury’s Ekant Veer.

Friday 12 November 12pm to 1pm

Helen Clark: The Big Issues

Helen Clark‘s work has brought her close to the two most urgent issues of our time: climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. Last year, Clark took on the task of co-chairing the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, an impartial and comprehensive review of the internationally co-ordinated response to COVID-19. As editor of the new anthology Climate Aotearoa Clark brings together New Zealand experts to examine the climate situation as it is now, as it will be in the years to come, and what we can do about it. In this essential hour, she discusses the findings of the COVID report, published in May, and the book, and what needs to happen to avert future catastrophe for both the planet and its occupants. In conversation with the University of Canterbury’s Bronwyn Hayward.

Friday 12 November 5.30pm to 6.30pm

Matt and Sarah Brown: She is not your rehab

Renowned barber Mataio (Matt) Brown has cut the hair of everyone from the All Blacks to members of the Wu Tang Clan. But he’s best known for his legendary local shop My Father’s Barber, where men come to get a haircut, and be heard without judgement, and to heal. Matt and his wife Sarah Brown (Ngāpuhi/Te Rarawa) speak with UC’s Phil Borell about their new book, She Is Not Your Rehab, based on the global anti-violence movement he inspired, his own journey of healing, and what it might take for a generation of men to break cycles of abuse.

Friday 12 November 6pm to 7pm

Kā wai o tahu: Ngāi Tahu's legal action over water

Water has long defined the landscapes of Te Waipounamu, and in recent years has begun to define political life as well. Why has Ngāi Tahu taken the Crown to court over freshwater? Join Dr Te Maire Tau (Upoko of Ngāi Tūahuriri) and freshwater specialist Dr Mike Joy for an in-depth discussion of Ngāi Tahu’s legal action, and the history, tikanga and science of the Wai in Te Waipounamu.

Saturday 13 November 4pm to 5pm

Not calm before the storm: Climate change now

For decades we’ve talked about climate change as an imminent threat. But how are rising temperatures affecting us right now, and how are people responding at home and world-wide? In this wide-ranging discussion Kim Hill speaks with journalist Tom Doig (author of gripping climate disaster narrative Hazelwood, and editor of Living with the Climate Crisis: Voices from Aotearoa) and veteran scientist Dave Lowe (lead author on the IPCC 4th Report, and author of The Alarmist, a memoir of life at the forefront of climate science).

Saturday 13 November 6pm to 7pm

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