The Te Whare W膩nanga o Waitaha | 茄子视频app官网 (UC) research group, Hei Puawaitanga: Civics, Sustainability and Citizenship Research Lab, led by , has won the 2025 American Political Science Association (APSA) Best Conference Paper Award in the Political Education section.
APSA is the world鈥檚 largest political science association.
This research explores a new way of teaching civics, inspired by Indigenous ideas of time (t膩) and relationships (v膩).听
The authors argue civics education should do more than teach personal responsibility 鈥 it should also help young people learn how to build relationships that enable citizens to work together and lead in a world affected by disruptive events, particularly climate change.
This approach is also vital for sustainable cities, according to Professor Hayward.听
鈥淲hat we do in cities matters for our climate 鈥 they are the source of approximately 72 per cent of world greenhouse gases, and the lifestyles of urban citizens makes a big impact.听
鈥淵oung people already make up a significant proportion of city populations worldwide, and globally Indigenous young people are among the most exposed to the challenges of climate change in urban communities,鈥 Professor Hayward says.听
鈥淒espite greater exposure to climate risk, Indigenous communities offer the strengths of culturally informed leadership, creativity and resilience that can help transform how cities adapt to climate risks including flooding and heat.鈥澨
鈥淭his award highlights the importance of rethinking how we prepare young people for uncertain futures. By focusing on community strengths in our research, we鈥檙e developing a relational approach to citizenship at UC 鈥 one that helps people learn how to understand others and the places they live, and build respectful and positive relationships over time.鈥澨
Professor Hayward says the prestigious international recognition signals that UC鈥檚 researchers are at the cutting edge of global debates on democracy, youth citizenship and climate futures.
The project draws together expertise from across UC including Political Science (Professor Bronwyn Hayward and ), the Faculty of Education (), Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies (), the School of Health Sciences (), Anthropology (MahMah Timoteo) and Child Well-being Research Institute (Sacha McMeeking).
The winning paper was presented in Philadelphia by Dr Prendergast, who also received an award for her outstanding presentation. It was titled, 鈥淎ttending to the t膩 and the v膩: Re-imagining 鈥榗ivics鈥 education to support Indigenous youth leadership in chaotic climate futures鈥.
The research was funded by The Deep South National Science Challenge and the UC Child Well-being Research Institute, and built on a previous grant by the UK Economic and Social Research Council, extending UC鈥檚 strengths in sustainability, equity and intergenerational justice in urban contexts.
Dr Cook, UC鈥檚 director of the Bachelor of Youth leadership, says the collaboration with local schools in 艑tautahi on the Pacific concepts of t膩鈥痑nd v膩鈥痟ave been central to the development of the award-winning research.
鈥淓mphasising Indigenous partnership and relationship development in climate education, our research is youth-led and community-focused. It seeks to amplify the voices of our rangatahi, support their citizenship and leadership, and consider climate in both a local and a global context.鈥 鈥
Professor Hayward is co-convener of the United Nations Adaptation Futures Conference (13-16 October) at 艑tautahi this month.听
The team will present on the paper at the conference.
For further information:
Professor Bronwyn Hayward, 021 2727069, bronwyn.hayward@canterbury.ac.nz
