Lewis Williams
From August 30th – September 1st 2018, I had the wonderful opportunity of attending the Human Development Capability Association (HDCA) conference in the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. Located on the Western shore of the estuary of the Rio de la Plata, near Argentina's coast, what is now the bustling and ethnically diverse city of Buenos Aires, was originally built by colonising Spanish forces in the 16th Century. Argentina remains a country which is deeply affected by colonialism; a history which in many ways shaped the conference theme. There were some great speakers from all over the world, and we were treated to very informative keynotes on the impacts of economic globalisation on development and social inequities in South America. Also quite noticeable inteh conference programme was the emphasis on urban slum dwelling and the efforts by regional government, particulary around Buenos Aires to address this. Whilst the Indigenous presence at the conference was fairly minimal (more about that later), there was a solid Māori presence. Certainly a highlight for me was the opportunity to meet new friends and colleagues including Whakauae associate Kirikowhai Mikaere, as well as Tamara Mutu (Te Arawa) and Dr Krushil Watene (Ngāti Manu) whom I presented alongside in our session on Māori and Indigenous capability approaches to sustainability. Of course the tango has to feature somewhere and on the final night we were treated to a wonderful performance of this!
Kirikowhai Mikarere and Lewis Williams at the conference.
Whilst this was my first time at the HDCA conference, I am familiar with the capability approach and the work of Amartya Sen whose scholarship on “Development as Freedom” continues to inspire HDCA, and in many ways has and continues to align with the self-determination work of Indigenous Peoples. It would have been good to have seen more Indigenous experience and research coming through the conference. Perhaps part of the reason why the Indigenous presence at the conference was low may be to do with how much work has to be done in Argentina to recover from colonisation. In brief - just 1.49% of Argentina's 41 million people identify as Indigenous and their displacement via Westernised economic development agendas has had catastrophic impacts. In two years time the conference will be hosted here in Aotearoa by Massey University. I am hopeful that this will provide the opportunity for Māori passionate about Māori public health and development to really put tino rangatiratanga and Indigenous self-determination at the top of the agenda!
Participating in the conference was in many ways a very meaningful experience and I am very happy to have had the opportunity to refresh my Māori public Health and social-ecological resilience research and practice through placing it in this particular international context.
Lewis Williams
From August 30th – September 1st 2018, I had the wonderful opportunity of attending the Human Development Capability Association (HDCA) conference in the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. Located on the Western shore of the estuary of the Rio de la Plata, near Argentina's coast, what is now the bustling and ethnically diverse city of Buenos Aires, was originally built by colonising Spanish forces in the 16th Century. Argentina remains a country which is deeply affected by colonialism; a history which in many ways shaped the conference theme. There were some great speakers from all over the world, and we were treated to very informative keynotes on the impacts of economic globalisation on development and social inequities in South America. Also quite noticeable inteh conference programme was the emphasis on urban slum dwelling and the efforts by regional government, particulary around Buenos Aires to address this. Whilst the Indigenous presence at the conference was fairly minimal (more about that later), there was a solid Māori presence. Certainly a highlight for me was the opportunity to meet new friends and colleagues including Whakauae associate Kirikowhai Mikaere, as well as Tamara Mutu (Te Arawa) and Dr Krushil Watene (Ngāti Manu) whom I presented alongside in our session on Māori and Indigenous capability approaches to sustainability. Of course the tango has to feature somewhere and on the final night we were treated to a wonderful performance of this!
Kirikowhai Mikarere and Lewis Williams at the conference.
Whilst this was my first time at the HDCA conference, I am familiar with the capability approach and the work of Amartya Sen whose scholarship on “Development as Freedom” continues to inspire HDCA, and in many ways has and continues to align with the self-determination work of Indigenous Peoples. It would have been good to have seen more Indigenous experience and research coming through the conference. Perhaps part of the reason why the Indigenous presence at the conference was low may be to do with how much work has to be done in Argentina to recover from colonisation. In brief - just 1.49% of Argentina's 41 million people identify as Indigenous and their displacement via Westernised economic development agendas has had catastrophic impacts. In two years time the conference will be hosted here in Aotearoa by Massey University. I am hopeful that this will provide the opportunity for Māori passionate about Māori public health and development to really put tino rangatiratanga and Indigenous self-determination at the top of the agenda!
Participating in the conference was in many ways a very meaningful experience and I am very happy to have had the opportunity to refresh my Māori public Health and social-ecological resilience research and practice through placing it in this particular international context.
