The awarding of honorary doctorates falls within the autonomy of the faculties and is carried out on the "basis of assessments made at the time of the award", explained the Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Antti Räsänen, on Wednesday when asked by katholisch.de.

Neither the university nor the faculty actively monitored or supervised the further "work or activities of the award winners" after the award ceremony.

Räsänen went on to emphasise that neither the University of Helsinki nor the Faculty of Theology are involved in international conflicts or politics.

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They were presented by the World Indigenous Nations University (WINU).

For the people of Otaki, of particular interest was their own whanau member, Oriwia Raureti (Ngati Raukawa).

She is currently the Executive Director of Operations at Te Wananga.

Oriwia has shown a passionate commitment to Maori people and education.

She follows a line of teachers from her late mother and sister. Oriwia is a leader in promoting te reo Maori and Maori excellence in research and education.

She is committed to her Catholic Church, her wider Community and to sports. Oriwia is a leader in Maori management.

The other recipients were Wiremu Kaa, Patricia Grace

Wiremu Kaa (Ngati Porou) was recognised because of his contribution as a native Maori speaker and his teaching and influence on Maori studies.

He was instrumental in the establishment of kohanga reo.

Patricia Grace (Ngati Toa) was recognised because of her literary accomplishments and her writing around Maori themes.

She was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters.

The awarding of the doctorates recognise a special contribution to community and education by various indigenous people in the world.

The graduation took place before family and friends and some indigenous people from around the world, from Alaska to Australia and the Pacific.

Te Wananga o Raukawa is a Maori University or 'wananga' situated at Otaki. Formally established in 1981 it caters for about 1300 students both on line and with actual presence at the University.

A coalition of three local Iwi (Ngati Toa, Te Ati Awa and Ngati Raukawa) te Wananga o Raukawa has as its basic aim excellence in higher education delivered with respect for traditional Maori learning.

While embracing use of te reo Maori and development of the student's home marae and tradition, the university utilises contemporary educational content.

Among Te Wananga o Raukawa's current students are Marist priests Peter Healy and Phil Cody.

While their focus is on development of te reo Maori (Maori language), the wider purpose is the privilege of living alongside Maori and sharing their life journey.

Peter and Phil live in a community at Otaki in partnership with Maori at Pukekaraka Marae, Otaki.

They are preserving the link the Church has with Maori through the Marist family from the beginning of the Catholic Church history in Wellington.

WINU is a world network for Indigenous higher education. It is founded upon and operating within the sovereignty of indigenous peoples.

Through its networking and the leadership of the accredited WINHEC member institutions and associated Alliances it offers co-joint undergraduate and post graduate programmes.

These programmes incorporate both western and cultural knowledge.

Source

• Supplied
• winhec.org
• wananga.com

He received a Doctor of Literature for his outstanding service to the University and outstanding contributions to education in New Zealand and internationally.

Professor Snook established and chaired the first Massey University human ethics committee, and led the development of the University's code of ethics for human subject research.

For the past 20 years he also convened the Education Policy Response Group, an ad hoc group of academic staff from across the College of Education that meets to prepare analyses of major government education policy. Its most recent report was on charter schools.

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