Associate Professor Dion Enari spoke about the importance of teachers taking control of their narratives at the monthly Pacific Research Lecture Series delivered by Pacific Development Office, Ōtara.
“The colonising explorers were coming to the islands and writing negatively about us as if we can’t speak for ourselves. Then writing about us and giving the writings to the general public to dehumanise us as savages,” Dion says.
“As Pacific people, we are great orators. There’s no doubt about that. Whenever we’re in meetings, we have a lot of good ideas and whakaaro, however, we’re not the best at writing it down.”
Dion Enari is an Associate Professor at Ngā Wai a Te Tūī (Māori and Indigenous Research Centre).
Dion’s presentation at the Pacific Research Lecture Series late last month was entitled: “We Must Publish ASAP”. He talked about his early years at school right through to recent times with a focus on publishing research and his engagement with the media.
“Growing up throughout the schooling system, I definitely wasn’t the strongest writer. I wasn’t really good at it. After I moved from New Zealand to Australia, I did my Bachelors in Business.
“But it was upon receiving my Masters in International Relations and then moving back to live in Samoa that my English actually got better. I had to move to Samoa to improve my English. I worked for the top newspaper in Samoa – the Samoa Observer. From there I really learnt and had an appreciation for the art of writing.
“I started to understand how powerful the media was. The media can control the general public. If I wrote a bad story about a certain sports player, I’ll then see Radio New Zealand will pick it up and Radio Australia will pick it up. Sometimes those issues will then be on the 7pm news in Australia. Then you could see the chain and I could see I actually started it all.”
- Title. Associate Professor Enari has worked as a journalist for the Samoan Observer and been published in media outlets around the world.
“Also, if you write about your research, then you can go for funding in that area. For example, I’ve published about Samoan women playing soccer. I filled that gap. This shows that I’m qualified to go and research in that space.
“Take, for example, carpentry. If you and your bro have found a new and more efficient way to teach the students that you haven’t seen in research – write it. That’s your knowledge. You can stamp yourself as an expert in that niche field.”
Associate Professor Enari will be on an upcoming joint MIT and Unitec panel discussing the importance of having academics in the media.
The ‘Research Panel Discussion – Storytelling and the Media’, to be held later this year, will also feature Dr Wiremu Manaia (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Awa), MIT Director Māori Education, Ali Ikram, Senior Communications Manager and Dr Rosanne Ellis, Director Research and Enterprise, MIT and Unitec.
One of things to be discussed will be the benefits of being in the media says Dr Ellis.
“We will also discuss what’s involved in engaging with the media and how to go about it. We’re lucky to have panellists who have a lot of experience in this area,” Rosanne says.
“Ali was a broadcaster at the highest level in Aotearoa and both Wiremu and Dion have been sought after spokespeople on their respective areas of expertise.”
Date, time and location for the: ‘Research Panel Discussion – Storytelling and the Media’ will also be posted on both calendars.