About us
Through Our Eyes is a collaborative research project involving young Māori (rangatahi), their hapu and iwi communities, and a Māori research team based in He Pārekereke at Victoria University of Wellington (Aotearoa/New Zealand).
We have invited young people to document their everyday lives in their own communities using digital cameras. more info>>
Through Our Eyes is funded by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga the Māori Centre for Research Excellence hosted by the University of Auckland. We expect to complete the study in 2006.
Why are we doing this research?
One of the ways we come to understand the world is by telling each other stories about it. Some narratives contain powerful reminders about how the world around us works. But even though the external pressures on the lives of young people is immense, the stories that young Māori tell about their daily realities are often missing when important youth legislation and policy is formulated.
The Through Our Eyes research team is working with four Māori communities in different parts of New Zealand to document the everyday lives of young people.
Our aim is to provide a forum in which young Māori can convey their social landscapes and the ways they 'see' the world they live in (literally through a camera lens). We ask them: how do your perceptions of the social world influence your interactions with other people, and your understanding of the future?
The articulation of these stories, and the social and cultural meanings embedded within them, are likely to provide directions for those of us, who as adults, are responsible for creating many of the social, economic and legislative conditions of these young people's lives.
Find out more...
