Domino's backs young kiwis for once in a lifetime chance

Media Release
15 April 2019

Auckland Domino’s Stores are getting behind four young kiwis for a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent New Zealand on the world stage.

On Wednesday 15 May, Domino’s stores in Auckland will be holding a “Doughraiser” from 5pm–8pm where they will donate $1 from every pizza sold during this time to help get four young kiwi poets to the USA to compete in the largest international Youth Poetry Slam Festival in the world.

This is history in the making.

In 2018, Ngā Hine Pūkōrero competed against 44 other high school teams to be crowned the grand slam champions of ‘Word - The Front Line,’ the largest poetry slam in Aotearoa.

Two months later, they also won the Trans-Tasman Poetry Youth Slam in Melbourne.

These victories have secured them an invitation to the world’s biggest youth poetry slam.

In July, they will travel across the Pacific to share their voices with the world at the 2019 Brave New Voices (BNV) Youth Poetry Festival in the United States.

No team from New Zealand has ever competed at BNV before, in fact, this is the first time anyone from Australasia will compete and represent their country at this prestigious event.

Founded in 1996, Brave New Voices is the largest international Youth Poetry Slam Festival in the world. Every year, over 500 young poets, their mentors, and the nation’s leading artists and cultural workers convene in a different U.S. city for 4-5 days of arts education, artistic expression, and civic engagement. Over 50 teams compete in the poetry slam, with a finals event that regularly draws thousands of audience members and has been in held in historic venues such as The Apollo Theatre in Harlem New York. The finale of Brave New Voices in 2008 and 2010 was aired on HBO as part of a documentary series.

Ngā Hine Pūkōrero are a group of four Rangatahi Māori whose work is richly woven with themes of indigenous and gender issues. They use Waiata, Karakia and Te Reo Māori throughout their poetry. They dismantle stereotypes, confront the challenges their generation faces and share new perspectives that until now have rarely been heard.

Support these brave new voices to take up this once in a lifetime opportunity and represent New Zealand on the world stage.

If people want to support the girls, they can buy some pizzas from their local Auckland Domino’s stores on Wednesday 15 May between 5pm-8pm. $1 from every pizza sold during this time will be donated to these young poets to help get them to Brave New Voices. You can also support them by donating to their givealittlepage - https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/four-young-nzers-set-to-take-on-the-world

ENDS

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