Sharneece Joyce and Shaquille Shortland are on a mission to reconnect Northland youth with their places of cultural significance. Photo / Tania Whyte
Sharneece Joyce and Shaquille Shortland are on a mission to reconnect Northland youth with their places of cultural significance. Photo / Tania Whyte
A Northland marae-based leadership workshop "for the rangatahi and by the rangatahi" aims to connect young people with their cultural backgrounds.
Rangatahi Ora's workshop Tatāi Whenua – connecting with land - will start in Dargaville but organisers hope to expand it throughout Northland and cater to different ethnic communities tooin future.
The pilot workshop's kaupapa is to enlighten rangatahi Māori with their iwi, hapu, taonga, moana, awa, maunga, by grounding them in tikanga, te reo, mātauranga and thereby familiarising themselves with different practices of te ao Māori.
Organisers Sharneece Joyce and Shaquille Shortland are leading the three-day wananga for rangatahi Māori aged between 15 and 24 from June 17 to 19.
Joyce said the couple discovered some young people lacked self-confidence, the ability to embrace who they are and where they stand with their cultural and ethnic background.
And this programme was an attempt to build self-confidence and provide direct support they might need, now or in the future, Joyce said.
"The workshop will connect the youth, first with the place and then with their peers and others in the community who they can work in partnership with – iwi, hapū, marae, community groups, and organisations."
By partnering with Multicultural Whangārei, Joyce said, they hoped to create learning opportunities for pacific whānau and other ethnic community groups in the region.
"This kaupapa on June 17 is focused on the Māori whānau, but in the future, we will be able to provide the non-Māori youth with an opportunity to connect and feel like they are part of the community as well."
Joyce said the ongoing kaupapa would address youth voices against racism, bullying, and the negative aspects that make them feel a bit different.
The couple aimed to include and train more rangatahi in the project in order to build the capacity within the youth, so eventually, the young people could become tuakana to the teina (similar to a buddy system) and take up future leadership roles.
"Although some of those who live in places like Dargaville or Whangārei may not have whakapapa to these places, our hope as an organisation is to bring those leaders outside of the whakapapa and allow them to run their workshops for their hapū and iwi," Joyce said.
Rangatahi Ora's workshop Tatāi Whenua - connecting with land will start in Dargaville and eventually, the rest of Northland will benefit from it. Photo / Tania Whyte
"We are also working in collaboration with the rangatahi of the area to ask for their whakaaro, as the kaupapa is not fully going to be one thing.
"It will constantly be adapting to what the rangatahi voice their concerns in and what they want to be provided knowledge on."
Joyce hoped to continue the programme as "by rangatahi, of rangatahi, and for rangatahi kaupapa".
Joyce appreciated Multicultural Whangārei, Te Puni Kokiri, and SkyCity for their funding for the free workshops.
"This [workshop] is just a trial to get the programme up and running, then the next offerings will be around school holiday programmes, six-month leadership course, and 12-month leadership course."
