Teen's Vision of Racial Harmony in Aotearoa
Media Story by George Heagney, Manawatū Standard, Palmerston North Manawatū
Mana Tamariki student Taumaihiroa TawhaiPorter has won the regional Race Unity Speech competition at the Youth Space in Palmerston North on Tuesday night.
Image: Manawatū Standard
A Manawatū teen has drawn on her personal experiences and those of her whānau to promote a message of harmony at the Race Unity Speech Awards.
Mana Tamariki student Taumaihiroa Tawhai-Porter, 15, won the Manawatū-Whanganui regional title at the Youth Space in Palmerston North on Tuesday night and qualified for the national final in Auckland in May.
This year’s topic was Listening to Understand Whakarongo Kia Mārama.
When Taumaihiroa (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Porou) was creating her speech she drew on experiences from both sides of her family and something she had been through.
She said she didn’t have high expectations before the event so was surprised when she won.
It was the first time she had entered the competition and she had some nerves at the start of her speech but they disappeared while she was speaking.
Her kōrero was about how to solve racial harmony and she opened with a quote from former Māori politician Sir Apirana Ngata. She discussed her mother’s side of the whānau who were Ngāti Porou like Ngata, then her father’s side, Te Ātiawa.
She discussed Manawatū iwi Rangitāne, then a personal experience.
“When I was a little kid, around 3, my mother took me to the mall to get an ice cream and she was speaking te reo Māori because that’s my first language.
“The ice cream lady asked what language we were speaking and my mum told her it’s te reo Māori. She told my mum I’m too pretty to be Māori.”
She had noticed racist attitudes in New Zealand so, in her speech, covered three potential solutions about understanding and racial harmony.
“The first point was learning the stories and teachings of our ancestors and then that peace and unity should be a new topic.”
She wanted the right information about Te Tiriti o Waitangi to be taught in schools and a focus on resolving disputes.
“Instead of fighting and just arguing we should practice in schools how to debate but in a calm way.”
She said if people did this, “peace and unity can blossom” and people could listen to each other.
The next Six weeks would be spent refining her speech before the national final.
Taumaihiroa has also entered in the Ngā Manu Kōrero speech competition the past two years.