Dr Xavier Forde WELLINGTON

Dr Xavier Forde is of Raukawa, Ngāti Toa, and Irish descent and acquired a taste for radical politics growing up in France and Algeria, before finding his way back home and obtaining a doctorate in political philosophy. He spent many years supporting hapū and marae to obtain statutory recognition for their taonga places at Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, and followed on from Dean Whiting as chair of the Māori heritage committee and on the Board of ICOMOS in 2018. Xavier is now a principal adviser at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, working across heritage-related agencies to support tribal projects that revitalise Māori traditional knowledge. He is also an adjunct senior research fellow at Te Kotahi Research Institute, University of Waikato, and is currently working on a Traditional Knowledge Labels pilot initiative with Ngā Hapū o Waimārama for their archaeological sites. Alongside Diane Menzies and others, Xavier is part of a global effort by indigenous heritage practitioners to change the processes of the world heritage convention, ICOMOS and other advisory bodies so that these would better meet the needs of First Nation peoples.