Inspiring speeches from young ‘rangatira’

Judges and young competitors in the Gisborne/Wairoa regional heat of the Race Unity Speech Awards held at the Waikanae Surf Life Saving Club hub last week. From left are judges Teina Moetara and Oriwia Spooner, students Ky Bartlett, Rewi Nankivell Jr and Kaia Anderson, and judge Jamie Hutana. Rewi was judged the winner and will go on to the semifinals in May. Picture supplied

Gisborne secondary school students shared kōrero inspired by the theme Te Taura Tangata — The Rope of Unity — at this year’s regional heat of the Race Unity Speech Awards.

The Speech Awards have uplifted and supported the voices of rangatahi since 2001 by providing a platform for inspirational ideas, touching personal stories and difficult conversations to be heard.

Laura Skeaff, one of the organisers of the Gisborne/Wairoa regional heat, said the speeches were uplifting and full of hope  —especially during a week where there had been a lot of challenges in Gisborne.

The students who spoke were Gisborne Boys’ High School Year 13 student Ky Bartlett; Gisborne Girls’ High Y13 student Kaia Anderson; and Campion College Y11 student Rewi Nankivell.

Rewi was judged the winner and will represent Tairāwhiti Gisborne at the semifinals in Auckland from May 4 to 6.

Ky and Kaia gave their speeches in English and Rewi spoke in te reo Māori. Speeches were up to eight minutes in length.

The first speaker was Ky, who has presented at the previous two Race Unity events.

His speech drew from examples, stories and pūrākau about Māui and his brothers who wove together different types of ropes to slow the sun, which related to the overall theme.

He spoke about instances of racial prejudice in Aotearoa and the world and explained how many solutions lay in te ao Māori and tikanga Māori.

Kaia’s speech led with the question for everyone to ponder: “You have arrived in New Zealand but have you arrived in Aotearoa?”

She spoke about her own identity and having a diverse whakapapa. She is of Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Niuean, Danish, Irish and Pākehā descent.

She said how these racial backgrounds came through her and how society needed to draw from the strength of everybody’s backgrounds to progress as a society.

Rewi spoke about the story of Māui and the strength and unity that was used to fish up the North Island.

He shared how examples like this and other pūrākau give him and his whānau the strength and wisdom to navigate racial prejudice and racism to find a way forward.

Ms Skeaff said it was a powerful speech.

“Even those in the audience who don’t understand te reo Māori felt it deeply,” she said.

The judges were Jamie Hutana from the Gisborne Police, Rongowhakaata Iwi Trust kaihautū Teina Moetara and kaihautū and education consultant Oriwia Spooner.

The judges acknowledged the young speakers for addressing racial prejudice and racism. It was a difficult topic.

They also said that they would be referred to as rangatira, not rangatahi, because their kōrero was that of a leader.

Ms Skeaff said it was important to give space to young people to be heard and for their ideas to be shared.

“Now more than ever, we need to uplift the voices of rangatahi and talk about these issues to find a hopeful path forward.”