THE TOROA STORY
The TOROA Centre for Communication Research takes its name from the toroa bird, the indigenous southern royal albatross. The toroa is the largest seabird in the world and breeds only in Aotearoa New Zealand. In native Māori culture, birds have long been seen as messengers and communicators; many 19th-century Māori language newspapers had bird names. The toroa signifies splendour and strength, but also freedom. Though it circumnavigates the globe, the toroa is unique to Aotearoa and always returns home. Equally, the TOROA centre seeks to stretch its wings across knowledge boundaries and encourages the exploration of uncharted territory. It does this by firmly grounding in the values of whanaungatanga (belonging), kotahitanga (unity), and manaaki (caring and support). The TOROA centre provides a home for established, new, and emerging communication researchers; it endeavours to nurture creativity, freedom of thought, and collaboration and supports its members to excel in their research. No matter where a journey leads, we remain connected to our papakāinga (origin, home) in the TOROA centre.
WHAT WE STAND FOR
The TOROA Centre for Communication Research advances knowledge in socially responsible and culturally grounded communication and media practices. We advocate for multidisciplinary, community-based research and practice-informed inquiry. Our researchers question and examine the relationships among communication and media practice, theory, and research. We cultivate research capabilities by supporting and developing practice-oriented communication researchers.
