29 Jan 2019
A small delegation of Māori and Pasifika youth ambassadors will be selected by Creative New Zealand to attend the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture (FestPAC) in Hawai’i in June 2020.
Held every four years, the festival brings together more than 2,000 artists and other cultural practitioners from 28 Pacific nations, including Taiwan. Its purpose is to preserve and protect the rich and vibrant traditions of the Pacific, and in 2020 will include a Youth Ambassador Leadership Programme for the first time.
The name for the leadership initiative, ‘Ka hao te rangatahi’, derives from the whakataukī Ka pū te ruha, ka hao te rangatahi - as our elders and leaders age and pass on, the voids they leave behind are fulfilled by our rangatahi who collaboratively (with our elders) weave together the future for generations to come.
“The youth ambassador leadership programme is a new feature of the Festival and we’re excited to select a small group of our finest rangatahi from Aotearoa to participate. There are so many great rangatahi, who are connected to the arts, making a difference in their communities and we want to know who they are. This is a rare opportunity for rangatahi (Māori and Pasifika) to develop experience as a national youth ambassador, to share their perspective on leadership and issues that are important to the Pacific” says Paula Cuff, Senior Manager, Māori Strategy and Partnerships.
“The youth programme fits well with the overall 2020 festival theme of the, E kū I ka hoe uli – take hold of the steering paddle.”
Each participating Pacific nation invites representation from their indigenous accomplished and emerging artists. The selected rangatahi will form part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s 100-strong delegation, but do not need to be artists. Their role will be as cultural ambassadors who are concerned with cultural issues and can explore, discuss and debate on matters such as language, culture, art, environment, politics and society.
Applications to be part of the Youth Ambassador Leadership Programme close at 5pm on Friday 1 March 2019.
Youth interested in taking part in the Youth Ambassador Leadership Programme can read the criteria requirements and apply on the Creative New Zealand website.
Learn more about the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture on its website.
Aotearoa New Zealand has sent a delegation to every festival since 1972 and has included weavers, sculptors, carvers, theatre groups, storytellers, poets, dancers, musicians and kapa haka. Read about delegates to the last festival, the 12thFestival of Pacific Arts 2016 (Guam), on our website.
Follow Aotearoa New Zealand at the Festival of Pacific Arts on Facebook
For application queries, please contact:
E: funding@creativenz.govt.nz | P: 0800 273 284
For media queries, please contact:
Rebecca Sellwood
Senior Communications and Advocacy Adviser, Creative New Zealand
E: rebecca.sellwood@creativenz.govt.nz | M: +64 4 473 0187
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