03
Assembling
Saturday, June 20th
Te Wānanga o Hina | Lunar Assembly at Space Place, Pōneke / Wellington
Te Wānanga o Hina | Lunar Assembly at Space Place, Pōneke / Wellington
Hina Wānanga, a meeting on protections for the moon from perspectives across the Pacific, is an in-person meeting at Space Place / Carter Observatory, Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington scheduled for June 2026.
Meeting around the solstice, beetween Puanga and Matariki, this gathering is guided by Hina, our friend and support in times of grief, transformation, and renewal.
The Hina Wānanga brings together Māori, Moana Oceania and Pākehā knowledge holders, scientists, policy-makers, and space industry partners. Hosted by Desna Whaanga-Schollum, Taipōrutu, with co-hosts Dr Nālani Wilson-Hokowhitu Vā Moana, and from Pūtaiao ki te Pāpori / School of Science in Society at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and Astro Ecologies Institute. The hui builds on Aotearoa’s legal innovation in recognising the personhood of natural entities and the guardianship of communities.
Meeting around the solstice, beetween Puanga and Matariki, this gathering is guided by Hina, our friend and support in times of grief, transformation, and renewal.
The Hina Wānanga brings together Māori, Moana Oceania and Pākehā knowledge holders, scientists, policy-makers, and space industry partners. Hosted by Desna Whaanga-Schollum, Taipōrutu, with co-hosts Dr Nālani Wilson-Hokowhitu Vā Moana, and from Pūtaiao ki te Pāpori / School of Science in Society at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and Astro Ecologies Institute. The hui builds on Aotearoa’s legal innovation in recognising the personhood of natural entities and the guardianship of communities.
Why we gather?
Hina Wānanga is an invitation to come together in whakawhanaungatanga: a gathering for dialogue and growing relationships of collective care, to learn together how communities can act in solidarity across different movements for Land, peoples and justice.
The Hina Wānanga is imagined as a space for creativity, relationship and to deeply consider protections for the Moon and for the whenua of Aotearoa amid the expanding space industry. As space activities expand on the Māhia Peninsula and lunar missions accelerate worldwide, we gather to explore how the Pacific can guide space futures grounded in kaitiakitanga and relational ethics. Following a presentation on Perspectives on the Rights of the Moon from Oceania for the International Astronautical Congress in 2024, the wānanga invites collaboration toward a long-term Pacific network of practitioners, artists, and researchers for the protection of the lunar environment and wider celestial relations.
When do we gather?
In June 2026, Te Wānanga o Hina is planned as a significant meeting in partnership with Space Place/Carter Observatory, bringing together Māori, Moana Oceania and Pākehā knowledge holders, scientists, policy-makers, and space industry partners. Hosted by Desna Whaanga-Schollum, (Rongomaiwahine) Taipōrutu, Te Māhia-mai-Tawhiti, with co-hosts from Pūtaiao ki te Pāpori | School of Science in Society (Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington), the hui builds on Aotearoa’s legal innovation in recognising the personhood of natural entities.
Hina Wānanga is an invitation to come together in whakawhanaungatanga: a gathering for dialogue and growing relationships of collective care, to learn together how communities can act in solidarity across different movements for Land, peoples and justice.
The Hina Wānanga is imagined as a space for creativity, relationship and to deeply consider protections for the Moon and for the whenua of Aotearoa amid the expanding space industry. As space activities expand on the Māhia Peninsula and lunar missions accelerate worldwide, we gather to explore how the Pacific can guide space futures grounded in kaitiakitanga and relational ethics. Following a presentation on Perspectives on the Rights of the Moon from Oceania for the International Astronautical Congress in 2024, the wānanga invites collaboration toward a long-term Pacific network of practitioners, artists, and researchers for the protection of the lunar environment and wider celestial relations.
When do we gather?
In June 2026, Te Wānanga o Hina is planned as a significant meeting in partnership with Space Place/Carter Observatory, bringing together Māori, Moana Oceania and Pākehā knowledge holders, scientists, policy-makers, and space industry partners. Hosted by Desna Whaanga-Schollum, (Rongomaiwahine) Taipōrutu, Te Māhia-mai-Tawhiti, with co-hosts from Pūtaiao ki te Pāpori | School of Science in Society (Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington), the hui builds on Aotearoa’s legal innovation in recognising the personhood of natural entities.