Māori Colleagues Visit IRes During Their Recent Attendance of an UA CARP meeting

In the last week of January, 2024  the UA AIR  Climate Adaptation Research Program (CARP) hosted a meeting with their partner institutions including visitors representing USAID, Stellenbosch University, Consejo Superior Universitario Centroamericano, Auckland University of Technology, and the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). Two of their guests from New Zealand, Dr. Alayne Mikahare-Hall and Dr. El Shadan “Dan” Tautolo have Māori indigenous affiliations, so this was a perfect time to also make the connection with the UA Indigenous Resilience Center (IRes).  

Dr. Mikahare-Hall is current Associate Head of School Māori Advancement in the School of Public Health and Interdisciplinary Studies, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences (FHES) Auckland University of Technology. Te Tiriti o Waitangi, New Zealands founding document, is foundational to all her academic obligations and advocacy activities. Dr. Mikahare-Hall’s leadership responsibilities are both strategic and operational contributing to organizational activities that promote the advancement of tauira Māori (Māori students) and hauora Māori (Māori health). Much of Dr. Mikahare-Hall’s research is conducted with indigenous communities and focusing on trauma and violence. Her research advocates for the advancement of culturally informed interventions for Māori and Indigenous peoples to address inequities in health. 

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Dr. Tautolo is the Director of the Pacific Islands Families Study and Director of the Centre for Pacific Health and Development at the Auckland University of Technology. Dr. Tautolo is passionate about research that improves the health and wellbeing of Pacific communities in New Zealand. During his visit of IRes, he, for example, presented a digital health tool / an AI chatbot that helps people after they quit smoking with troubleshooting and forming new healthier habits.