Inaugural ASB Polyfest Leaders Day

The ASB Polyfest has created a leadership event designed to empower, encourage and support student leaders from schools across Auckland seven weeks out from the 2018 festival.

The inaugural ASB Polyfest Leaders Day will be held from 9am to 3pm this Wednesday, January 24 at MIT's Manukau Campus. It will see more 100 student leaders take time out of their summer holidays to be inspired by Maori and Pacific Island leaders working in the community.

Newly-appointed ASB Polyfest director Seiuli Terri Leo-Mauu says: “The full-day leadership event has been designed to encourage young leaders to take ownership of this year’s ASB Polyfest. It's about teaching our student cultural leaders about school spirit and keeping the essence of competition, but doing it in a good way.”

The day will include motivational speakers and performance workshops with the view to empower student leaders ahead of returning to school and their ASB Polyfest group rehearsals.

"It's important to bring the student leaders together before ASB Polyfest," Leo-Mauu says. "It gives us time to encourage them, to teach them the skills they might need to get their groups started while bringing them together and uniting them as leaders.

“Even though the ASB Polyfest is a competition of cultural performance, it’s important that the two hundred school groups that compete on stage at the festival see each other as family, and come together with a mutual respect for one another at the festival as whanau. The Leaders Day is the first step towards this objective in 2018.”

The ASB Polyfest Leaders Day will start with a Mihi Whakatau from ASB’s Kapa Haka group. Seiuli Terri Leo-Mauu will then outline the purpose of the day, before a guest presentation from Pasifika leader – Ronji Tanielu. Tanielu is a well-known social analyst with the Salvation Army and the author of a report into the state of Pasifika people in New Zealand entitled – “More than Churches, Rugby and Festival”.

Presentations will be followed by workshops focused on Fa’aaloalo (respect), fakamalolo (strength) and mana (pride). One session will be taken by the festival’s Niue stage co-ordinator and respected Polynesian musician Malcolm Lakatani.

Timetable - ASB Polyfest Leaders Day
9am – 9:30am Registration
9:30am – 10am Mihi Whakatau
10am – 10:10am Welcome
10:10am – 10:20am Wairua (Purpose) Seiuli Terri Leo-Mauu
10:20am – 12:45am Guest Speaker Ronji Tanielu
11am – 12noon Workshop # 1 Fa’aloalo (Respect)
1pm – 2pm Workshop # 2 Fakamalolo (Strength)
2pm – 3pm Workshop # 3 Mana (Pride)

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