18 September 2008
MEDIA RELEASE

The Treaty of Waitangi - What do you think?

What does the Treaty of Waitangi mean to you? The Museum of Wellington is inviting people to come together for the Treaty Open Day - a day of discussion, waiata and games to explore the questions: What does the Treaty mean for New Zealanders today? What do you think it means?

Events include fun activities especially for children and an afternoon panel discussion in which invited guests will share their stories on the Treaty. Contributors include Dr Claudia Orange and Queenie Rikihana.

The Treaty Open Day takes place Sunday 5 October, 10am – 4pm, and provides an opportunity for people and whanau to share stories, learn more about the Treaty and get to know it as a living document. The day-long event is the Museum of Wellington’s public programme for its current feature exhibition, TREATY 2 U.

The Treaty Open Day begins at 10am with the Treaty Tricky Trail. Children will be able to pick up the Trail from the entrance of the TREATY 2 U exhibition and work their way around the space, cracking the clues along the way. Prizes will be awarded for those who can crack it early and spot prizes will be awarded for team efforts.

At 11am high school students from the Wellington region will give speeches on what the Treaty means to them. As provocation they were asked to consider what the Treaty had done for them and what future they see for the Treaty in Aotearoa. These informal presentations will offer the public an opportunity to hear how the Treaty is viewed by our youngest generation of New Zealanders.

A panel discussion takes place in the afternoon, titled The Treaty today – What do you think? Beginning at 1.30pm, an invited panel of guests will share their stories, views and thoughts on the Treaty in terms of the communities they come from. Speakers include Dr Claudia Orange, well-known author on the Treaty, Whitireia Polytechnic journalism tutor, Queenie Rikihana and Professor James H. Liu, a specialist in the study of identity and culture, who will talk about multi-culturalism in Aotearoa with respect to the Treaty.

The discussion offers people an opportunity to hear a range of personal perspectives, and will be facilitated by Wellington City Councillor Ray Ahipene-Mercer.

The Treaty Open Day concludes with waiata at 3.30pm.

The Museum of Wellington director, Brett Mason, says “the Treaty Open Day is all about providing an opportunity to talk about the Treaty and to hear different views. It is important that the Museum opens up dialogue on topics raised by our feature exhibitions - the Treaty Open Day is a perfect complement to TREATY 2 U”.

The Treaty Open Day is a free event, open to all. People are welcome to pop in throughout the day, or stay and join us for the day.

What does the Treaty mean to you? The Museum of Wellington invites you to find out…

Treaty Open Day
Museum of Wellington
Queens Wharf
Phone 04 472 8904
Sunday 5 October, 2008
10am – 4pm
FREE ENTRY

ENDS

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