Krushil Watene receives global science honour

In a win for the value of the humanities in engaging with the world's greatest challenges, philosopher Associate Professor Krushil Watene from Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland has been named a fellow of the International Science Council (ISC), based in Paris.

The honour recognises her sustained contributions to advancing philosophical engagement with planetary crisis, social fragmentation and rapid technological change.

Dr Watene (Ngāti Manu, Te Hikutu, Ngāti Whātua Orakei, Tonga) joins a select group of Auckland academics in receiving this distinction, including Sir Peter Gluckman and Sir Collin Tukuitonga before her.

As Peter Kraus Associate Professor in Philosophy, Watene’s research addresses fundamental questions in moral and political philosophy, with a particular focus on well-being, development, justice, and obligations to future generations.

She says her work is based on the conviction that serious responses to contemporary challenges must integrate diverse knowledge traditions, from mātauranga Māori to global philosophies, and must include the humanities.

“These are the cultural, conceptual, and creative knowledge traditions where societies think hardest about who they are, what they stand for, and what they owe one another.”

Watene’s commitment has involved ongoing engagement with Indigenous communities, both in Aotearoa and globally.

Recently in Kenya as part of a gathering of Indigenous communities convened by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), she strongly advocates for these communities to be resourced to make decisions grounded in generations of accumulated knowledge.

“Indigenous and local communities in New Zealand and elsewhere are mobilising to protect nature, for example, through new collaborations for their communities, languages and biodiversity,” she says.

Watene believes her appointment recognises both the scholarship underpinning this work as well as the intellectual case for philosophy in addressing global challenges; and it comes with exciting possibilities.

“It opens fresh pathways for international research collaboration and deepens the dialogue between philosophy and science policy at global scale.”

This year’s cohort comprises 60 new ISC fellows from around 30 countries who join a global network of more than 200.

Appointments follow rigorous evaluation by the Fellowship Council, which assesses contributions to global science while maintaining fair representation across regions, gender, and disciplines. Fellows serve as ambassadors for science through mentoring, policy advising and participation in high-level forums.

Aotearoa New Zealand has been a significant contributor to the International Science Council through its institutions, including Royal Society Te Apārangi.