Whakatau mai rā e te huinga tauira, e te huinga tāngata ki tōku whare wānanga e! Nau mai rā e ngā mana, e ngā waka ki te tumu herenga waka, ki Te Tumu ki Ōtākou.
Nō mātou o Te Roopū Māori te maringanui ki te whakahaere i Te Huinga Tauira ki Ōtepoti 2019. I tae mai te tini me te mano ki tō mātou whare wānanga i te Rāpare te 29 o Akuhata, ā, i pōhiritia ngā waewae tapu ki tō mātou kāinga rua. I ia te rā, i ia te pō i tū ngā kaupapa whakahirahira ki te whakakotahi i a tātou anō. Ko te kapa haka, ko ngā momo hākinakina, ko te tautohetohe, me te ngāhau i te pō.
Ko te kaupapa o Te Huinga Tauira; 'whakamaua te hoe onamata, kia kauria ngā wai anamata'. Ko te angaanga matua o te kōrero nei he mātua tuku i te reo whakatītina, whakakipakipa ki te makiu tāngata kia tahuri mai ki te ao māhorahora e nohia nei e tātou. Pūpuritia ngā taonga tuku iho i waiho mai e taua mā, e poua mā hei āta para i te ara whakamua mō tātou, ā, mō ngā uri e haere ake nei.
Ngā mihi maioha ki ngā apataki katoa, nā koutou tēnei kaupapa i puāwai ai.
It was our privilege as Te Roopū Māori to host the 2019 National Māori Tertiary Students conference here in Dunedin. The masses arrived on our campus on August the 29th and we welcomed them into our second home. Each day and each night was packed with events to embrace the rare opportunity of 250 Māori students coming together in Dunedin. Some of these events included Kapa Haka, sports, debating and social nights.
The theme of our conference was 'take hold of the paddle of our past, to navigate the waters to our future'. The essence of this theme is to encourage and inspire the masses to reflect critically upon the world we live in. Hold firm to the prized knowledge and traditions our ancestors have left us, and use these to pave the way forward for not only us, but also our descendants to come.
A massive thank you goes to the volunteers and supporters, without whom this event would not have flourished.