Action Education - Stories

Judges for Semi Heats 1 & 2!

9/29/2020

Semi Finals Heat 1 Kicks off tonight!
7PM Live on the Action Education Facebook Page. Tonight we will be hearing incredible new poems from Papatoetoe College, Rangitoto College, Epsom Girls Grammar School & Saint Kentigern College. Come along a cheer on these incredible young poets! Now, meet our judges for this weeks Heats!

Phodiso Dintwe is a multidisciplinary artist and performer from Botswana. He was a Rising Voices 2016 finalist, and is currently pouring his focus into music. His work speaks into the worlds and weavings within the Afrikan continent and all who are tethered to it. Phodiso has recently released his debut album, 'Act I’.

Stevie Davis-Tana is a spoken word poet, youth worker, and māmā to be, born and bred in Tāmaki Makaurau. She is currently working on a new project ‘Kō’, a spoken word poetry visual album about reclaiming identity as a young person in te ao Māori. She is passionate about creativity, culture, community, young people, and pasta.

Lastman So'oula is an educator, artist, and performer. An alumni of the South Auckland Poets Collective and a Fine Arts Graduate of Elam, he has been a coach for multiple Word the Front Line teams and is the 2017 Auckland University Poetry Slam Champion.

Aotearoa-born Tokelauan and Samoan poet Luti Richards is the eldest of 12 siblings who was born and raised in Happy Valley, Wellington. She was a member of the critically acclaimed South Auckland Poets Collective and the visionary behind WORD – THE FRONT LINE, Aotearoa’s first inter-high school spoken word program developed under the leadership of Action Education in 2014. Luti has worked in varied roles in film and television production, youth development, business management and more recently in strategic advisory roles within faith-based organisations. She is a visionary wordsmith with an innate ability to reimagine a new and better world through poetry, picture and verse and has performed in various events and conferences including the Queenstown Poetry Festival; the Northern Easter Camp and the Every Nation Conference in Manila, Philippines.

Semi-Finals Heats 1 & 2 Live Stream!

9/29/2020

In it’s 7th year, Word – The Front line is the only event of its kind in Aotearoa. A poetic battlefield in which young leaders, artists, and visionaries gather from all over Auckland to share their voices. Come along and celebrate the top 16 high school teams as they battle for a chance to compete in the 2020 Grand Slam.
Due to the current covid safety guidelines all of our semi-final heats this year will be online events streaming from the Action Education Facebook Page.

Heat 1
Tuesday 29th September, 7.00pm-8.30pm, Online via FB
Papatoetoe High School
Saint Kentigern College
Epsom Girls Grammar
Rangitoto College
Heat 2
Thursday 1st October, 7.00pm-8.30pm, Online via FB
Mangere College
Aorere College Team 2
Birkenhead College
Ngā Puna O Waiōrea
Heat 3
Monday 5th October, 7.00pm-8.30pm, Online via FB
Onehunga High School
De La Salle College Team 1
Mt Roskill Grammar
Northcote College
Heat 4
Wednesday 7th October, 7.00pm-8.30pm, Online via FB
De La Salle College Team 2
Aorere College Team 1
Mount Albert Grammar
Saint Dominics
Event is open to all ages. However there may be use of mature language and themes.

Grand Slam 2019 Judges!

8/29/2019

Back for it's 6th year, the Word - The Front Line Grand Slam is the biggest poetry event in New Zealand. Happening Saturday 14th September, 7pm at the Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall, the top 6 teams from around Auckland will compete for the title of 2019 Grand Slam Champs. Tickets can be purchased at the Ticketmaster website here!

Judging a poetry slam is no easy feat, so we are fortunate to have an incredible judging panel of officials, poets, artists, and community figures. For the first time ever we will also be having 5 judges! So without further delay, here are our judges for the Word - The Front Line 2019 Grand Slam.

Photo credit: Neil Mackenzie

Judge Andrew Becroft
Children's Commissioner

Judge Andrew Becroft was appointed the Children’s Commissioner for New Zealand for an initial two year period from June 2016. Prior to that he was the Principal Youth Court Judge of New Zealand from 2001 to 2016; and was appointed a District Court Judge in 1996. After graduating from Auckland University in 1981 with a BA/LLB (Honours) degree, he practised in Auckland until 1986 when he then assisted with the establishment of the Mangere Community Law Centre and worked there until 1993. He then worked as a criminal barrister in South Auckland until his appointment to the District Court in Whanganui, from 1996.

Jordan Vaha'akolo

Jordan Vaha'akolo, also known as 'The River Jordan' by his social media followers, is known for his ability to make people laugh and spit some serious truth. Having previously worked for Attitude, he has a natural gift for speaking to young people and communities about some of our toughest topics. For the most part Jordan works in television and film. Having acted and presented he also spends his time behind the camera, currently producing for Māori TV. He’s passionate about people, food and story telling with hopes to one day create world renowned movies about the Pacific and our culture.

Photo credit: Pati Solomona Tyrell

Jahra 'Rager' Wasasala

Jahra ‘Rager’ Wasasala is of Fijian/Euro origin based in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and is an award-winning cross-disciplinary activation artist and world-builder. Jahra’s mahi has toured across Aotearoa, Australia, Hawai’i, New York, Berlin, Guahån and Canada so far. Recognised as a performative force of nature, Jahra utilises her training within performance activation, contemporary dance technique and poetry soundscape as a psychopomp for ancestral attunement, shape-shifting and story-telling through her work. Jahra is currently in development for the new solo activation work ‘GOD-HOUSE’, commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Photo credit: Peniel Fa'amausili/Sole Photography

Photo credit: Peniel Fa'amausili/Sole Photography

Te Kahu Rolleston

Carrie Rudzinski

Te Kahu Rolleston (Ngāi Te Rangi) is a Māori poet, spoken word performer, actor and battle rap artist from Tauranga. He has been called 'The Taniwha of Slam Poetry'. His work often honours his ancestors, the land, and the ongoing Māori struggles for Tino Rangatiratanga and socio-economic betterment. His poetry speaks to what it means to be Māori, combining mythology, history and modern politics. Te Kahu was the 2014 winner of The National Poetry Slam Competition, and in 2015 was invited to attend The Banff Centre’s Indigenous Writing Programme alongside Witi Ihimaera. He has since performed his work nationwide and internationally, working particularly with youth, schools and community groups.

Carrie Rudzinski is a poet and published author who ranked 4th in the world at the 2014 Women of the World Poetry Slam. Featured in Bustle, the Huffington Post, and Teen Vogue, she has performed her work over the past 14 years in 6 countries and in almost all 50 of the United States. She recently won the 2019 Pussy Riot award at the Auckland Fringe Festival and performed at the 10th annual Tedx in Christchurch. Her poems have been published in Landfall, University of California Press, Learn Than Burn, We Will Be Shelter, Catalyst and Muzzle. She is currently a lecturer of performing arts and creative writing at Manukau Institute of Technology and a program coordinator for the Michael King Writer’s Centre’s Young Writer’s Program.

Semi-Finals #2 Judges!

8/8/2019

We are pleased to announce the judges for our WORD - The Front Line Semi-Finals Heat #2 this coming Saturday August 10th at the Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall.

We are so excited to have some incredible poets, artists, and community figures on our judging panel, who are so kindly gifting their time, talents and expertise. This event could not happen without them! Judging a poetry slam is no easy feat, so we wish them all the best!

Without further ado, here are your judges for HEAT #2:

Villette

VILLETTE is an award-winning all round creative - from singing producing & DJ’ing to song writing. Born & raised in New Zealand, VILLETTE’s sound is a mix of RNB, Hip Hop & Electronic Soul. in 2016 she was signed with Red Bull Sound Select which provided her with opportunities to travel NZ and go to LA to work in studio sessions with prominent writers and open for AlunaGeorge alongside Xavier Omar. Most recently, VILLETTE won the award for Best Pacific Music Video at the 2019 Pacific Music Awards.

Her production & vocals has taken her on a NZ & USA tour, and travelling around Australia opening for UV Boi.

Sonya Renee Taylor

Sonya Renee Taylor is the Founder and Radical Executive Officer of The Body is Not An Apology, a digital media and education company committed to radical self-love and body empowerment as the foundational tool for social justice.

Sonya has shared her work as an award-winning Performance Poet, Activist, and educator in numerous countries and on major media outlets around the world,reaching hundreds of thousands of people with her commitment to radical self-love and transformation. Sonya continues to perform, speak and facilitate workshops globally.

Te Karere Scarborough

Billy Revel

Two time Poetry Idol winner and judge Te Karere Scarborough (Ngāpuhi) is formerly a member of the South Auckland Poets Collective.

He has taught and performed poetry internationally and works for the charity Parenting Place

As a member of The Black Friars Theatre Company, Billy has a passion for building bridges and making mirrors particularly for Pasifika youth, through various mediums and sectors. Privileged to stand on the shoulders of giants, he too hopes to offer his shoulders and grow to be a giant for others.

Semi-Finals #1 Judges!

7/31/2019

We are pleased to announce the judges for our WORD - The Front Line Semi-Finals Heat #1 this coming Saturday August 3rd at the Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall.

We are so excited to have some incredible poets, artists, and community figures on our judging panel, who are so kindly gifting their time, talents and expertise. This event could not happen without them! Judging a poetry slam is no easy feat, so we wish them all the best!

Without further ado, here are your judges for HEAT #1:

Te Kahu Rolleston

Alice Canton

Māori poet, spoken word performer, actor and battle rap artist Te Kahu Rolleston (Ngāi Te Rangi) won the National Poetry Slam Competition in 2014 and has since performed his work nationwide and internationally, working particularly with youth, schools and community groups.

Alice is a performer, theatre-maker and teaching-artist. She has performed and taught throughout New Zealand, Australia and Asia, and is the founder of White_mess, a creative, open structure that facilitates the production of highly diverse theatre projects and collaborations.

Jess Holly Bates

Jess Holly Bates is a queer, pakeha and an award-winning poet, theatre-maker and artist. She makes performance work about the embodied and cultural responsibilities of whiteness (Inheritance, The Sacred Settler Real Fake White Dirt). She stands for mana motuhake, extra-capital joy and the dismantling of the patriarchy.

Melodownz

Melodownz’ hip-hop lyricist, Bronson Price, is an urban poet and artist raised in the phone line tangled village of Avondale, Auckland. Melodownz’ sound is shaped by a variety of local producers who honour his smooth melodies. His diverse style travels from hip-hop, reggae, G-funk and soul all accompanied by his punchy lyrics

Word - The Front Line Semi-Finals #1

7/31/2019

At the start of the year 40 high school teams from around Auckland came together to compete at the Word - The Front Line Regional Heats. From there we took the top 14 teams on an incredible journey of poetry, community, leadership, and growth.
7 of those teams will now compete at Semi-Finals #1. The top 3 teams from each Semi-Finals heat will advance to the Grand Slam to battle for the title of 2019 Grand Slam Champs! Get your friends and family along to support our young poets as they step up their own front lines to slay their giants.

Saturday 3rd August, 3-6pm
Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall
Gold coin entry

Competing teams are:
- De La Salle #1
- Mount Albert Grammar
- Aorere College
- Epsom Girls Grammar
- Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate
- St Pauls College
- Rangitoto College

Event is open to all ages, however there may be use of mature language and themes.

Welcome Back!

2/11/2019

Happy New Year and welcome back!

2019 has already proven to be extremely busy for our team, and we have hit the ground running. We have some exciting projects lined up for this year, and can't wait to share them with you all.

We are back into the flow of things and our calendars for Term 1 and 2 are already booking up fast. However, we do still have spaces available so if you are interested in getting us in to run workshops or do presentations in your school, organisation, or community, please get in touch with us as soon as possible at info@actioneducation.co.nz

Ko tenei Te Wiki o te Reo Māori!

9/10/2018

What better way to celebrate than to showcase some incredible champions of Te Reo and Te Ao Māori, our 2018 WORD - The Front Line Grand Slam Champs from Ngā Puna o Waiorea. Their passion, and ability to weave Te Reo Māori seamlessly into their poetry is breathtaking, and has seen them stack up incredible scores from the judges across the competition.

A huge shout out to Māori Television and Te Kāea for doing this follow up story on this amazing group of poets. Every week is Māori language week for Māori Television, and it is so amazing that they are regularly sharing positive stories about young people on the news. Check out the video below, which was one of the poems the team performed at the Grand Slam, or you can check out the full story here (they come on at 11:10).

Kia Kaha Te Reo Māori! Let's make the Māori language strong! Ahakoa iti, ākona, kōrerotia - Learn a little, use a little.
You can find out more about Te Wiki o te Reo Maori here!

Introducing Our Grand Slam Judges!

8/29/2018

Our biggest event of the year, the WORD - The Front Line Grand Slam is coming up this Saturday 1st September, 7pm at the Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall. Every year this sold out event brings together poets from across Auckland, as they step up to their own front lines in the biggest youth slam in New Zealand!

Tickets are selling fast, so be sure to get yours here before they sell out!

We are so excited to announce the incredible people who will be judging at our Grand Slam! Each of these judges brings so much talent and expertise to our judging panel, and we are really fortunate to have them on board with us. These talented poets, artists, educators, social change champions, and community figures will be judging what will no doubt be the fiercest WORD - The Front Line slam to date. This will be no easy feat, so we wish them all the best!

Introducing our judges for the WORD - The Front Line Grand Slam:

GRACE TAYLOR

Grace Teuila Evelyn Taylor is of Samoan, English, Japanese hertiage born and raised Auckland. Mother, Poet, Writer, Performer. Grace has two published works with ala press (Hawaii), Afakasi Speaks (2013), and Full Broken Bloom (2017). Writer of ATC commissioned poetic theatre show My Own Darling (2015 & 2017). She won the CNZ Emerging Pacific Artist Award (2014). Grace has been part of the leadership for the spoken word poetry movement in Aotearoa (co-founder of South Auckland Poets Collective and the first youth poetry slam in Aotearoa RISING VOICES), having worked with young people in youth development and the Arts since 2006. She currently holds the Visiting International Writer in Residence at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (Jan - May 2018).

RICHIE HARDCORE

Richie Hardcore is a board member at White Ribbon New Zealand, Ministry of Social Development 'It's Not Ok’ Champion, working to end men's violence against women. He is an educator and public speaker, focusing on exploring masculinity and ending rape culture, sexual and family violence. A retired former multiple Muay Thai Champion, with over 25 years in martial arts, Richie is now a trainer, having helped some of New Zealand's most accomplished fighters achieve their goals.’

CARRIE RUDZINSKI

Carrie Rudzinski ranked 4th in the World at the 2014 Women of the World Poetry Slam and was named Best Female Poet in 2008 at her first national poetry competition. Featured in Bustle, the Huffington Post, and Teen Vogue, she has performed her work over the past 13 years in 6 countries and in almost all 50 of the United States. A published author, her poems have been featured in such collections as University of California Press, Learn Than Burn, We Will Be Shelter, Alight, The Legendary and Muzzle. Carrie is currently a lecturer at Manukau Institute of Technology’s Faculty of Creative Arts teaching performing arts and creative writing and the programme coordinator
of The Poetry Project for the Michael King Writer’s Centre in Auckland, New Zealand.

POETIK

Ventry Parker (POETIK SUSPEKT) born in Henderson, Auckland NZ, grew up for the better half of his life in Apia, Samoa. As the son of a well-known Samoan entertainer, music has always played a major roll in his upbringing. Though it wasn’t until his early teens that he discovered his unwavering passion for hip hop. As one of the founders of the Samoan hip hop scene and a member of the local group Vital Status, Poetik found an outlet from malicious circumstances through music. Raised between the villages of Upolu and the neighborhoods of South Auckland, the young rapper has now begun to establish himself in the hip hop community as an ambassador of his home, his people and his culture. Alongside the immortal production of Ironmanny, Poetik brings forth a new as well as resurrecting an old style of the art. Staying true to his words and the teachings of his elders, he is a voice for all Polynesians.

Grand Slam Guest Performers

8/29/2018

We have some incredible guest performers lined up for our WORD - The Front Line Grand Slam 2018, this Saturday 1st September, 7pm at the Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall. These talented people are shaping the arts scene here in New Zealand, and we are really fortunate that they will joining us on stage this weekend. Be sure to get your tickets here so that you can watch some of New Zealand's hottest talent throw down!

Introducing our guest performers for 2018:

DIGGY DUPE

Inner City Diggy has been evolving in the underground with crew Kamo Collective over the years and then swiftly emerged onto the scene in 2017 with his weighty project K.O.T.I.C under Renaissance Music. He has opened up recently for international artist Wiki [USA] and undoubtedly has one of the most memorable '64 Bars' episodes via Redbull Studios. His recent single “The Hill” vividly depicts the life and issues surrounding the current changes within Inner City suburbs such as Grey Lynn and Ponsonby.

MELODOWNZ

Melodownz’ hip-hop lyricist, Bronson Price, is an urban poet and artist raised in the phone line tangled village of Avondale, Auckland. Melodownz’ sound is shaped by a variety of local producers who honour his smooth melodies. His diverse style travels from hip-hop, reggae, G-funk and soul all accompanied by his punchy lyrics.

POETIK

Ventry Parker (POETIK SUSPEKT) born 23, March 1988 in Henderson, Auckland NZ, grew up for the better half of his life in Apia, Samoa. As the son of a well-known Samoan entertainer, music has always played a major roll in his upbringing. Though it wasn’t until his early teens that he discovered his unwavering passion for hip hop. As one of the founders of the Samoan hip hop scene and a member of the local group Vital Status, Poetik found an outlet from malicious circumstances through music. Raised between the villages of Upolu and the neighborhoods of South Auckland, the young rapper has now begun to establish himself in the hip hop community as an ambassador of his home, his people and his culture. Alongside the immortal production of Ironmanny, Poetik brings forth a new as well as resurrecting an old style of the art. Staying true to his words and the teachings of his elders, he is a voice for all Polynesians. Check out the video above of Poetik winning Most Promising Artist at this year's Vodafone Music Awards!

TE KAHU ROLLESTON

Maori poet, spoken word performer, actor and battle rap artist Te Kahu Rolleston (Ngāi Te Rangi) won the National Poetry Slam Competition in 2014 and has since performed his work nationwide and Internationally, working particularly with youth, schools and community groups.