Global Transitions: Implications for a Regional Social Work Agenda

Abstract

The verse Whakarongo, whakarongo whakarongo, reminds us that we are all connected to a wider world; we are not isolated from our natural environment; instead there are close and enduring bonds between people, the land, and the sky, between night and day and between the spiritual and the material. And when the voyages from Hawaiki nui, Hawaiki roa, Hawaiki pamamao are recalled, there is recognition of distant shores from which journeys began and the common starting points that were home to the many peoples of Asia and the Pacific. Essentially the verse is an endorsement of the aim of this Conference: to create an opportunity for delegates across Asia and the Pacific to identify common ground and to unite under a mantle of collegiality, a shared vision, and a shared sense of place.