SAANZ2023

 

The early decades of the 21st Century have brought into stark relief the significance of the 1970s environmentalist maxim to ‘think global, act local’, not just with respect to the environment, but also politically, culturally, economically, and in almost all other aspects of our social lives. While Aotearoa is a small actor on the international stage, it is clear that inherently local responses that genuinely incorporate Indigenous and multicultural concerns are required to manage the effects of global forces on our shores. Historically, these actions have included Indigenous activism to redress the effects of colonisation, New Zealand being declared nuclear free, and the 1981 Springbok Tour protests.

The 21st century has seen an increasing urgency in the need for action with respect to global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of anti-Muslim hate speech, increasingly strident anti-trans voices, the havoc wreaked by climate change, and the environmental damage wrought by multi-national interests. In some instances Aotearoa’s responses have been lauded internationally; in other cases we are still seeking how to best mitigate the effects of these crises. The need to find balance between Indigenous and tau iwi knowledges, experiences and priorities frequently results in unique actions that, while sometimes prompted by external forces, have their roots firmly grounded in the whenua of Aotearoa.

Important Dates

Call for Papers Closed: 4 September
Call for Panels  Closed: 4 September
Call for Student Plenary Submissions Closed: 4 September
Early-Bird Registration Opened: 2 August
Earl-Bird Registration Closes: 1 November

Conference Dinner

The Conference dinner will be held at The Phoenix – 2/59 The Strand, Tauranga (approximately a five-minute walk from the conference venue).  

This year we are opting for a more casual approach, with grazing tables being provided across a couple of hours – think pizza, tacos, etc, rather than a three-course meal. The intention here is that this will allow for more mingling, and means that people can turn up early or stay on later to have a drink with colleagues if they want. This has also meant a lower cost for the dinner, which we hope will enable more students to attend.

Cost: $45 per person (does not include drinks) – You can add a dinner ticket when you register here.

 

Accommodation

Book Accommodation Here

 Conference organisers have secured a limited number of rooms in the Waikato University student accommodation in Tauranga (a five-minute walk from the conference venue)

The Details:

  • Available for the nights of November 28th, 29th, and 30th
  • Each room has a king single bed, ensuite bathroom and mini fridge
  • There are kitchenettes on each floor (with fridge, microwave, hot water zip and dishwasher) suitable for preparing snacks and tea/coffee
  • Linen and bedding will be provided. 

 Please note:

  • There is no parking on site. There is some street parking on Selwyn Street and parking buildings in the city centre. 
  • Check-out on the 30th is by 9am – there will luggage storage available at the conference venue.

Costs:

  • $110 per night for student attendees (please use the same details you use for your conference registration)
  • $130 per night for general attendees

Spaces a limited and will be filled on a first-come basis. 

For more information: https://www.waikato.ac.nz/student-life/accommodation/tauranga-accommodation

Please contact Johanna Schmidt (johanna.schmidt@waikato.ac.nz) if you require an accessible room, as these have been held aside for those who need them.

Keynotes & Plenaries

Wednesday Afternoon – 29 November
Anjum Rahman
Anjum Rahman has been advocating for women’s rights and actively challenging racism in Aotearoa New Zealand since the 1980s. In 1989, Anjum contributed to setting up the Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand. In 2019, Anjum became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to ethnic communities and women. Anjum is the founder and current coleader of Inclusive Aotearoa Collective Tāhono. She was a founding member and a trustee of Shama (Hamilton Ethnic Women’s Centre), and a founding member of the Campaign for Consent Waikato. Anjum is a Trustee of Trust Waikato and on the governing Council of InternetNZ. She is also a co-chair of the Christchurch Call Advisory Network and vice-chair of the Independent Advisory Committee of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism.

 

Thursday Afternoon – 30 November
Sanjana Hattotuwa
Dr. Sanjana Hattotuwa studies the confluence political communication, propaganda, and the instigation of hate on social media. His doctoral research was the first to study representations of New Zealand’s Christchurch massacre on Twitter. Specialising in social media communications strategy, digital security, online activism, and mixed-methods social media research, Dr. Hattotuwa has accumulated over two decades of experience in the study of truth decay, and information disorders. Since 2013, he has been at the forefront of research into disinformation, and social media influence operations in South Asia, and Sri Lanka. His work extends to Southeast Asia, North Africa, the United States, Europe, and the Balkans. Presently, he holds the position of Research Director at The Disinformation Project in New Zealand and serves as a Special Advisor at the ICT4Peace Foundation in Switzerland. He routinely advises leading social media companies on enhancing platform integrity and mitigating inauthentic behaviour and harmful content.

 

Student Plenary

Early Afternoon of Thursday 30 November

Doing research with one’s community

How do researchers negotiate their multiple positions as insiders, outsiders and ‘inbetweeners’ (Milligan, 2016) when doing research with their own communities? Is it possible to demarcate one’s own voice in research when giving voice to one’s community? How can researchers ensure that research is done with and not on or to; that research outputs are co-constructed and benefit the community, and that research is never an extractive process? What are the opportunities – and risks – for the researcher working in their own community?

Speakers:

Agatha Gibbons, University of Waikato

Swakshadip Sakar, Victoria University of Wellington

Charlotte Bruce Kells, University of Otago

Suzette Jackson, University of Auckland

Plenary

Morning of Friday 1 December

A Social Justice Approach to Education

It is commonly recognised that the education system often works to reproduce, rather than address, social inequalities – this occurs at all levels of the education system. In this plenary, speakers from a range of educational contexts speak to the ways in which they seek to use education as a means to challenge, rather than replicate, social inequalities.

Speakers:

Fairleigh Gilmour (Sociology) and Shayne Walker (Social Work), University of Otago

Etta Bollinger, To Be Frank (sexuality education and consultancy)

Tamsin Green, Ramp Gallery, Wintec

Student Sessions

The SAANZ2023 Student Sessions will be held on the first morning of the conference, Wednesday 29 November, and will include:

  • A panel discussion on disseminating research findings to participants and communities.

  • A roundtable discussion on incorporating voices from outside the academy into research and practice.

The 2023 Call for Student Reps will also be made during this session. 

Further details will be provided in the draft programme – to be released early November. 

Conference Programme & Proceedings

The conference programme will be available through Sched closer to the conference. There will be no printed programmes. 

Getting There, Facilities & Other Information

Campus and nearby facilities

The 2023 SAANZ Conference will be hosted on the Tauranga campus of Te Whara Wānanga o Waikato The University of Waikato. The campus is located in the centre of Tauranga at 101 Durham Street, but is also accessible from Durham Lane – this is entrance has easy access for drop-offs and pick-ups. The campus occupies one newly constructed building – we will be occupying most of Level 2 (with the whakatau being held in Te Manawaroa on Level 1). A map of the campus can be found here. There are various facilities on the campus, listed here

Points to note:

  • Gender neutral toilet facilities are located on Level 1, and old-fashioned toilets on Level 2.
  • There are filtered water outlets on each floor – we ask that delegates bring their own water bottles.
  • Lockers are available on six-hour timers.
  • There are power points and USB charging points available across Level 2, including in the rooms in which the presentations will be held.
  • The atrium on Level 2 has extensive flexible seating and table space.

In addition to the Ultimo café on the Ground Level of the campus, there are various food and coffee outlets close to the campus. We particularly recommend Folk at 148 Durham St for coffee (out the main doors on the Ground Level, turn right, approximately one minute walk).

 

Transport

Tauranga’s only public transport is the bus network. A range of routes service the campus – further information can be found here. Buses take cash or the Bee Card – further information about the Bee Card can be found here.

Tauranga Airport is serviced by regular flights from the main centres – flying from locations other than Auckland, Wellington, or Christchurch does require transfers. Information regarding taxis, shuttles, and rental cars at the airport can be found here. A taxi from the airport to the campus is likely to be approximately $25.

There is no parking available on the campus, but paid parking is available in the Spring St Parking Building, just opposite the campus. Information about fees can be found here.

 

Accommodation

Conference organisers have secured a limited number of rooms in the Waikato University student accommodation in Tauranga (a five-minute walk from the conference venue). Further information can be found here and bookings can be made here.

Tauranga is well-serviced for accommodation options. Accommodation within an easy walk of the campus include:

Contact

If you have any questions, please email Conference Convenor Johanna Schmidt: johanna.schmidt@waikato.ac.nz

Queries regarding the Critical Social Work stream should be directed to Liz Beddoe: l.beddoe@auckland.ac.nz or Donna Baines: dbaines@mail.ubc.ca 

Call for Papers

 

The 2023 Call for Papers Closed 4 September

 

The convenors of the SAANZ Annual Conference 2023: Global Challenges / Local Responses, are pleased to call for submissions for conference papers. Paper presentations will be 15 minutes each, with 5 minutes for questions. This call for paper proposals closes 4 September 2023. All proposals will be reviewed and included at the discretion of the conference organising committee. This process will be completed by 25 September 2023.

As always, the 2023 SAANZ Conference welcomes all sociologically grounded topics, but we look forward to a focus on the local, the Indigenous, the grassroots, the community-based, drawing on the conference theme.

The 2023 conference includes a stream dedicated to critical social work, which explores everyday dissonances, hope, and social work in the context of local and global challenges and particularly welcomes exploration of this theme from Indigenous and/or postgraduate researchers. The Call for Papers for this stream can be found here.

This conference will be entirely in-person, and all participants whose papers are accepted must register for the conference by 1 November 2023 at the latest. Presenters who register after this date will be included in the conference programme at the discretion of the conference organisers.

Should you have any questions about this call for papers, please do not hesitate to contact the convenor of the conference committee, Johanna Schmidt: johanna.schmidt@waikato.ac.nz

Queries regarding the Critical Social Work stream should be directed to Liz Beddoe: l.beddoe@auckland.ac.nz or Donna Baines: dbaines@mail.ubc.ca.

PAPER SUBMISSIONS

Abstracts must be submitted online via either the SAANZ portal or the specific portal for the Critical Social Work stream – see below. Abstracts must include the name(s), institutional affiliation, and email contacts of the paper presenter(s), a paper title, and a 200-word abstract.

Instructions for Formatting Text Abstracts:

  • Format: doc or docx only
  • Length: 200 words max
  • Title font: Times New Roman, bold, size 16, centred, followed by a line space
  • Author/s Name: Times New Roman, bold, size 12, centred
  • Author/s Affiliation/s: Times New Roman, bold, size 12, centred
  • Author/s email address/es: Times New Roman, bold, size 12, centred
  • Abstract text: Times New Roman, size 12, justified

Note: please refer to specific calls (e.g., calls for panels, submissions to the Critical Social Work stream) for any requirements related to that call.

Please read and follow the above instructions carefully. We will have upward of 120 submissions to process and our systems are ‘format sensitive’ – accordingly, any deviation from the instructions below can cause significant disruptions and unnecessary demands on volunteers’ time and energies.

Call for Panels

 

The 2023 Call for Panels Closed 4 September

 

Call for Student Plenary Submissions

 

The 2023 Call for Submissions Closed 4 September

Critical Social Work Stream - Call for Papers

 

The 2023 Call for Papers Closed 4 September

Everyday Dissonances, Hope and Social Work in the Context of Local and Global Challenges

Social work is positioned at the crossroads of what is say-able and unsayable, topics others like to avoid, and an increasingly difficult and politicised struggle to retain rights and defend the care of individuals, communities and our planet. Though practiced at the level of the local and the everyday, social work faces similar challenges around the globe (including in Aotearoa), where right wing agendas undermine rights to reproductive choice, transgender equity, and inclusive public and post-secondary education, and place liberatory frameworks for service delivery in ongoing threat. Though globally and locally the challenges may seem bleak, social workers in many locations and services are advancing concepts and causes such as: Indigenous rights, radical hope; critical, intersectional and anti-oppressive theories; and anti-carceral, social justice-based practice.     

This stream calls for papers that explore any aspect of the dissonances, challenges and promising practices in social work and social policy, as well as analyses that advance hopeful responses and visions for social equity and social justice at the level of the individual, family, community, region, country or planet. We especially welcome papers from Indigenous and/or postgraduate researchers.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Please submit your abstracts (100-word max) by 4 September 2023. Confirmations will be sent out in early September 2023.  

Paper presentations will be 15 minutes each, with 5 minutes for questions. This conference will be entirely in-person, and all participants whose papers are accepted must register for the conference by 1 November 2023 at the latest. Presenters who register after this date will be included in the conference programme at the discretion of the conference convenors.

Any queries can be direct to Liz Beddoe: l.beddoe@auckland.ac.nz or Donna Baines: dbaines@ubc.ca.

This our 4th critical social work stream at this conference, this year convened by Liz Beddoe, Eileen Joy and Donna Baines. Depending on the quality of the papers, we hope to publish a Special Issue in a social work journal. More details to follow.

PAPER SUBMISSIONS

Abstracts must include the name(s), institutional affiliation, and email contacts of the paper presenter(s), a paper title, and a 100-word abstract.

Instructions for Formatting Text Abstracts:

  • Format: doc or docx only
  • Length: 100 words max
  • Title font: Times New Roman, bold, size 16, centred, followed by a line space
  • Author/s Name: Times New Roman, bold, size 12, centred
  • Author/s Affiliation/s: Times New Roman, bold, size 12, centred
  • Author/s email address/es: Times New Roman, bold, size 12, centred
  • Abstract text: Times New Roman, size 12, justified