The incarnation suggests that God in Christ is committed to human flourishing. This compels us also to be devoted to the wellbeing of people.
Laidlaw College is proud to announce the two-day conference: Whakawhiti Korero: Conversations between theology and social vocation, with keynote speakers Professor Mark Brett (Whitley College, Melbourne), and Dr Siautu Alefaio (Massey University, Aotearoa – New Zealand).
Here at Laidlaw College we believe that a strong theological vision sustains the exercise of social vocation (including fields such as social work, counselling, teaching and nursing) and in turn is enhanced by the concerns of social vocation. Faith and theology can hold a significant place in the lives of those whose vocation is strongly connected with people, families and communities. The Schools of Theology and Social Practice within Laidlaw College are therefore deeply interested in the integration of theology and social vocation, and believe that the practices of theology and of social vocation need each other.
The purpose of this symposium is to create a conversation between these two realms of thought and practice, the better to appreciate how they might shape and inform each other.
DAY 1:
MONDAY 1 OCTOBER
(Registration: 8:20 am – 9 am)
9 am until 5:30 pm
Keynote speaker: Professor Mark Brett
Professor Mark Brett teaches Hebrew Bible and ethics at Whitley College in Melbourne, within the University of Divinity. He grew up in Papua New Guinea, which led to a lifelong interest in the cultural contexts of education and theology.
His research has focused on ethnicity and postcolonial studies, and among many other works, he is the author of Decolonizing God: The Bible in the Tides of Empire (2008), Political Trauma and Healing: Biblical Ethics for a Postcolonial World (2016), editor of Ethnicity and the Bible (1996), and co-editor of Colonial Contexts and Postcolonial Theologies: Storyweaving in the Asia-Pacific (2014).
During 2005–2008, he also worked with Traditional Aboriginal Owners to develop new frameworks for the negotiation of native title claims within the state of Victoria.
MONDAY EVENING (01 October)
TED-X STYLE PRESENTATIONS INCLUDING CONFERENCE DINNER
(Registration: 6pm until 6:30pm)
6:30pm until 9pm
DAY 2:
TUESDAY 2 OCTOBER
(Registration: 8:30am until 9:15am)
9:15am until 5pm
Keynote speaker: Dr Siautu Alefaio
Dr Siautu Alefaio is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychology, Massey University and International Fellow of the Humanitarian Innovation Initiative (HI2) – Watson Institute, Brown University. She is the first woman of Samoan and Pacific descent to become an Educational psychologist.
Trained in Educational psychology Siautu is an experienced psychologist practitioner who has worked across various applied psychology contexts in education, health, social services, community, family violence-prevention, forensic rehabilitation and disaster humanitarian response across New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific.
She is Founding-Director of New IndigenoUs-innovation of Pacific Humanitarians (NIUPacH), a virtual research collective based in Oceania focused on improving the effectiveness and accountability of disaster preparedness, risk resilience and management, humanitarian response, and post-emergency reconstruction. Understanding that traditional psychology does not inevitably reflect indigenous cultures has been well documented.
Siautu’s work pioneers a new way forward in psychology that encompasses experiences, values and beliefs of Oceania for reforming psychology. Her research expertise draws on extensive applied psychology experiences to develop a NIU (New Indigenous Understandings) psychological research platform for re-informing psychological theory and practice.
Please join us for what we hope will be challenging and inspiring conversations.
Warm regards,
Tim Meadowcroft, School of Theology and Lisa Spriggens, School of Social Practice
