Tāmaki Makaurau will welcome the biggest event of the year on the Māori education calendar this afternoon.
Te Whakataetae ā-Motu o Ngā Manu Kōrero, the national secondary schools’ speech contest, gets underway at Auckland’s Spark Arena tomorrow, with a pōwhiri to welcome competitors this afternoon beginning at 3pm.
Te Ao Māori News will have live coverage of the pōwhiri, while the rest of the competition will be streamed live on Māori+.
The competition, often called “the maker of rangatira”, offers a stage for young people to express their views and to lay down their challenges to an admiring and critical audience of peers, parents, whānau, and judges.
Every secondary school is invited to join, with all students welcome to join the te reo Māori speech section to increase the prominence and proficiency of students speaking reo Māori.
Students from Tāmaki Makaurau will be welcomed into Spark Arena at 1pm, before they turn around and perform a pōwhiri to welcome the rest of the students from across the motu.
The nationals will be held at the Spark Arena in Tāmaki Makaurau from Monday, September 9 to Wednesday, September 11.
2024 marks the competition’s 59th year.
