Toiroa Williams and Jaye Wainui
Dr Toiroa Williams, (Te Whakatōhea, Ngāi Tai, Te Whānau-a-Apanui), Senior Lecturer and Mr Jaye Wainui, (Ngāi Tahu, Tūhoe, Whakatōhea, Ngāi Tai, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Kai Tahu, Ngāti Whātua), AUT alumni, have been appointed to the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WIPCE) International Council.
Dr Toiroa Williams is a Senior Lecturer in Te Ipukarea – Institute for Indigenous Knowledge at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). Jaye Wainui is Tumu Whakarae (Chief Executive) of the Kirikiriroa Family Services Trust and Tamariki Tū, Tamariki Ora in Hamilton.
WIPCE is the largest and most diverse global Indigenous education forum in the world. It has been hosted in Aotearoa three times, most recently in 2025 when AUT hosted in Tāmaki Makaurau. The second every WIPCE conference was hosted in Aotearoa in 1990 at Tūrangawaewae Marae, and again in 2005 when the conference was hosted by Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in Kirikiriroa, Hamilton. The next WIPCE will be hosted in Waikōloa, Hawai‘i in 2028.
The appointments of Jaye Wainui and Dr Toiroa Williams as Aotearoa representatives on the WIPCE International Council continue this proud whakapapa of Māori leadership and service within the global Indigenous education movement, building upon the foundations laid by those who have carried the kaupapa before them and ensuring that Indigenous voices continue to shape the future of education internationally.
Useful links
- WIPCE International
- Dr Toiroa Williams academic profile
- Te Ipukarea – Institute for Indigenous Knowledge
- Kirikiriroa Family Services Trust