Join us for the next event in Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln University’s Excellence Series—a platform that celebrates leadership across disciplines and showcases the University’s distinctive, applied research contributing to Aotearoa’s prosperity and intergenerational wellbeing.
In this thought-provoking presentation, Professor Paora Tapsell—renowned Indigenous scholar and inaugural Director of Lincoln’s Institute of Kāika Climate Resilience—shares insights from over three decades of research spanning Indigenous knowledge systems, cultural heritage, and climate adaptation. From revitalising marae connections to tackling climate challenges through an Indigenous lens, his work is grounded in the deep relationship between tangata (people), whenua (lands), and taonga (resources).
Drawing on case studies from Aotearoa and the wider Pacific, Professor Tapsell will outline a “nation space” of climate innovation—one that centres Indigenous values, strengthens community resilience, and reimagines our collective future.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from one of Aotearoa’s most respected Māori researchers on how Indigenous wisdom and applied science can help shape a more sustainable, equitable world.
Tuesday 15 July
4.00pm-5.30pm
Patiki, Waimarie Building, Lincoln University
Timings
4.00 pm - Networking
4.15 pm - Welcome & introduction from LU Vice-Chancellor
4.20 pm - Presentation from Speaker
4.50 pm - Summary
5.00 pm - Networking and questions over drinks and nibbles
5.30pm - Event Ends
About Our Speaker
Professor Paora Tapsell
Professor Paora Tapsell, of Whakaue and Raukawa descent, is a distinguished academic and leader in Indigenous studies, museum curation, and cultural heritage. Raised on his ancestral lands of the Bay of Plenty and Waikato, he became the first Māori to be appointed curator of art and history at Rotorua Museum in 1990. He earned a first class Master's in Social Anthropology at University of Auckland and a Doctorate in Museum Ethnography from the University of Oxford before completing a post-doc at ANU. His career includes roles as Director Māori at Auckland War Memorial Museum, Dean and Professor at the University of Otago, and Professor at the University of Melbourne, where he established and directed Australia's first Indigenous Studies program. Co-founder of Māorimaps.com, his site facilitates thousands of reconnections monthly between urban-raised Māori and their ancestral marae. In 2024, he was elected a Companion of the Royal Society Te Apārangi for his contributions to Māori communities. In January 2025, he was appointed inaugural director of Lincoln University's Institute of Kāika Climate Resilience, charged with the responsibility of integrating mātauranga Māori with contemporary science to address climate challenges.
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