Keynote Speakers
MINISTER KAREN CHHOUR
Hon Karen Chhour is the Minister for Children and for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence. Karen grew up interacting with the state care system and was elected to Parliament as an ACT Party MP in 2020 with the goal of reforming Oranga Tamariki.
Before politics, Karen was self-employed in the New Zealand-made clothing industry. She is a mother of four and has lived on Auckland's North Shore for the past 30 years.
DR EDUARDO DURAN
aka TEOSHPAYE TA WOAPIYE WICASA
Eduardo Duran is a Vietnam Veteran who started his academic training after being discharged from the US Navy. He has worked in Indigenous communities most of his professional life. Clinical work in communities has informed his theoretical and clinical approaches to psychotherapy. His work is informed by traditional teachings from Indigenous elders that continues to unfold into an ongoing hybrid model to address individual and collective soul wounding.
Early on he was providing community psychological interventions when an Indigenous Woman Elder approached him and told him that he needed to write and publish what she heard him speak about. That meeting with the Elder has resulted in several books including: Native American Post Colonial Psychology, Healing the Soul Wound, Buddha in Redface and Quantum Coyote Dreams the Black World. The unfolding themes in these writings are an integration of traditional Indigenous and Western cosmology as these interface with of the shape shifting consciousness in our present Zeitgeist. Eduardo lives in Bozeman Montana.
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JOINT KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
PATRICIA WALSH & ELIZABETH STANLEY
Patricia Walsh was born and raised on the sunny East Coast. She is a mother of four adult children and a nanny to fifteen mokopuna who live within hugging distance of her.
She is a student of life, Patricia's passion is to hold space with wāhine so they find their hīnātore, there oho moment. Patricia strives to create change for her mokopuna.
Professor Elizabeth Stanley works on rights, state crimes, carceral violence, and the connections between criminal and social justice. Her 2016 monograph The Road to Hell: State Violence against Children in New Zealand paved the way for the establishment of Aotearoa NZ’s Royal Commission into Abuse in Care. Across several roles, within and outside the Commission, she has advocated for survivors’ recognition and redress, as well as accountability and other justice measures.
In recent writing, she has outlined how offending state institutions have managed the Commission to ensure impunity and to maintain their positive reputations. She is now especially focused on how states create conditions that make violence – including physical, sexual, psychological and systemic violence – socially tolerable or normal.
NGĀI TAHU PANEL:
ARIHIA BENNETT & DONNA MATAHAERE-ATARIKI
Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi
Arihia Bennett - Apart from a few years in the tourism industry, Arihia has spent most of her career in the social services both as a social worker and a social work leader in both government and the NGO sector. For the past twelve years Arihia has led Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, as their longest serving CEO, stepping down in March of this year. The role embraced a broader vision of not only becoming a leading commercial business in Te Waipounamu with an asset base of $1.8b but also supporting and enabling Ngāi Tahu communities and whānau to build their own pathways towards self-determination (this being the real measure of success). Arihia has participated in many external Board director roles across social services, environment, infrastructure to rebuilding communities such as recently leading Kāpuia, the Ministerial Advisory Group on the Christchurch Mosque Attacks, for the past three years. It is clear that these have been deliberate choices as they are all anchored in strengthening whānau and communities to find solutions that enable people to flourish.
Arihia lives in Tuahiwi where her whānau have created their own Papakāinga that is intergenerational, this was started by her late parents, Pani and Tosh, who themselves were inspiring community health and education leaders.
Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Ruanui, Te Atiawa, Ngā Rauru, Ngā Ruahine and Tuwharetoa
Donna Matahaere-Atariki has a background in education, health and social services, and governance experience with the Gambling Commission and the University of Otago. She was previously Chair of Te Kāhui, the Māori Advisory Group to Aroturuki Tamariki, the Independent Children's Monitor.
Ms Matahaere-Atariki has strong knowledge of child protection and hapū and hapori, and extensive relationships and networks with iwi, hapū and community development organisations.
From November 1, 2023, Ms Matahaere-Atariki was appointed Deputy Chief Children's Commissioner
