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Mahi

What we're up to

12 YEARS OF WORD – The Front Line! Another massive year for WORD and we are officially wrapped! Every year continues to blow us away, the absolute power, grace, and life from our poets is second to none and we are truly humbled to share space every year with you all. To our 2025 WORD Whānau, THANK YOU for your voices that continue to uplift us all and change the fabric of the very world we live in. Thank you for stepping up to your front lines to speak your truth and holding each other so well in the process. This year’s Grand Slam was beyond special, and we are truly grateful to everyone in our village who upholds WTFL and makes this possible. Big mihi to all our funders Creative New Zealand, Foundation North, Auckland Regional Council, New Zealand Lotteries Commission, J R McKenzie Trust, MAS Foundation, and The Tindall Foundation for generously supporting us, for investing in young artists and supporting communities to creatively thrive. Your support means so much, to so many. Ngā mihi nui! Shoutout to our top six teams for repping hard! Diocesan School for Girls, Wesley College, Zayed College for Girls, Waitākere College, Dilworth College, and your 2025 WORD Champions, Nga Puna o Waiorea! Congratulations again to you all! Thank you to Elaine and the team at Auckland Live for hosting us and providing professional stages, sound, and lighting for our poets. To our judging panel, Sara Qasem, Onehou Strickland, Zech Soakai, and Tom Scott! An all-star lineup that held down the hardest job of the night! Thank you! Massive shoutout to our back-to-back champs of WORD Otautahi, Cashmere High School. Special thanks to all our teachers, coaches, alumni, and staff for the hard mahi put in throughout the year to support our poets and amplify their voices. Thank you to Peniel Fa’amausili, Sole Photography, Reuben Fietje, and SEV Agency for capturing lifelong memories for our poets and programme. – Be sure to keep an eye on our YouTube channel! Shoutout to DJ Nualan for holding down the beats! Huge thank you to Daisy Lavea-Timo for supporting us with some very generous prizes for our packs! A reminder to all our poets that Word – The Front Line is but a launching
✨ JUDGING PANEL 2025 ✨ We are proud to introduce WTFL Grand Slam 2025 Judges ⭐️ Tom Scott, born of the blood, sweat, and tears shed with Homebrew, @Peace, Average Rap Band, and Avantdale Bowling Club, Scott’s craft as a music maker and performer is second to none. He has released nine albums (two of which debuted at number one on the New Zealand Top 40 album chart) and built a loyal live following throughout Aotearoa, Australia, and as far afield as Europe and the United Kingdom. In recognition of his considerable talents and cultural impact, he’s been awarded Album of the Year, Single of the Year, and Best Hip Hop Album at the Aotearoa Music Awards, as well as the coveted Taite Music Prize (2019) and multiple APRA Silver Scroll Award nominations. Sara Qasem is a Palestinian poet, community advocate and educator living in Ōtautahi. Her writing threads memory and loss with resilience, holding space for her people’s grief and hope. She has shared her work on many stages and in print, and is guided by the belief that as a diasporic and Muslim woman, telling our stories is an act of resistance against erasure, and a way to open pathways toward change. Zech Soakai is a poet, writer, educator, scholar, activist and producer. He has been in and around spoken word since 2011 and has in the past been a proud mentor / coach to seven different teams over a 10 year period. He believes wholeheartedly in the voices and stories of our young people and is so amped to listen, learn and show some love to young & hungry orators in Word the Frontline this year.  Onehou Strickland is a poet and facilitator from the heart of South Auckland. She now finds herself in the world of film and TV as a writer, editor, media operator and director. She has been a member of the South Auckland Poets Collective since 2012 which has seen her travel the country performing and leading workshops in Spoken Word. 📅 Saturday 13th September ⌚️ 7pm 📍 Hunua Room, Level 1, Aotea Centre 🎫 link in bio!
WORD - THE FRONT LINE SEMI-FINALS 2025 ⭐️ Through months of breaking the glass ceilings and spoken word poetry, our top 14 teams left it all on the stage with two sold out back to back weekends. Each year our rangatahi continue to raise the bar and we are still buzzing from level of growth, talent and truth our poets shared. To all our WORD whānau ‘25, we are endlessly proud of you. Thank you all so much for stepping beyond your frontlines and holding not only yourselves, but each other in every space and stage. We are blessed to have experienced your creativity and journey’s. In no particular order, these will be your top 6 teams moving on to the Grand Slam: Zayed College For Girls Diocesan School For Girls Dilworth School Waitākere College Ngā Puna o Waiōrea Wesley College These events would not exist without a village! Thank you to our coaches and alumni for being the pillars in our communities and to your teams! Special shoutout and thank you to our two legendary judging panels and Aotearoa’s leading artists featuring Bloody Samoan, Matilda Clack, Big Sima, Onehou Strickland, Marcus Mackenzie, Manaia Tuwhare-Hoani, Mama Seebz and Mark Esekielu. Thank you to DJ Nualan on the decks! Keeping the energy on for both days and in all our spaces. Huge thank you to Peniel Fa’amausili (Sole Photography) and Reuben Fietje (SEV Agency) for creating visuals for us to treasure forever. We appreciate you! Thank you so much to Auckland Live for having us. We value and appreciate everything your team has done to make these events run smoothly and an overall success. Big mihi to our funders, Creative New Zealand, Foundation North, Auckland Council Regional Arts and Culture, the Tindall Foundation and Next Gen for your continuous and generous support. Word - The Front Line Grand Slam is happening in a few weeks‼️ Details coming TOMORROW…
OUR WTFL SEMI FINAL #2 JUDGING PANEL: Seba Dilaimi, known online as @mama.seebz, is a vibrant content creator, dedicated primary school teacher, and proud solo mum with a following of over 500,000. A plus-size, positivity-driven hijabi, Seba celebrates her Iraqi heritage while embracing life as a Kiwi, having immigrated to New Zealand at the age of 14. After studying maths at university, she pursued her passion for education, completing her teaching degree in 2013. Since 2014, Seba has been inspiring young minds and now leads the junior team at Oranga School. Mark Esekielu, Senior Manager for Mental Health and Addictions at Le Va, brings over 29 years of dedicated experience to his role, encompassing community, social services, and mental health sectors. He holds qualifications in Psychology, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Social Work, and Business, blending his cultural, clinical and strategic insight.  Manaia Tuwhare-Hoani (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wai) is a young wahine Māori spoken word poet with a passion for storytelling. She does this as part of the poetry collective, Ngā Hinepūkōrero. Together, Ngā Hinepūkōrero participated in WORD - The Front Line 2018 in Auckland, the Trans-Tasman Slam in Melbourne and came out champions. They were the first team from Aotearoa to represent at the 2019 Brave New Voices, the largest international youth poetry slam in the world. She has appeared in media such as Te Karere, The Hui, RNZ and many others. In 2021 NHP did a writer’s residency at the Auckland Art Gallery as part of the Toi Tū, Toi Ora exhibition. Marcus Mackenzie (he/him) is a Tāmaki Makaurau based writer, performer, and lawyer. He is the 2023 National Poetry Slam champion and since finding an affinity for spoken word in 2017 has been lucky enough to perform his work all across Aotearoa. He is a coach for the inter-high school competition WORD - The Front Line and is a member of the JAFA Poetry Slam executive team. Recently he was published by Auckland University Press in the performance poetry anthology Rapture. 📅 Saturday 16th August ⏰ 1pm 📍 Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre 🎫 $5/$10 link in bio! We only have a handful left 🏃‍♀️

 

 

 

Community open mic

Our Stand Up Poetry (SUP) community open mics make spoken word poetry relevant and accessible by providing a public platform for emerging spoken word poets.

These events are held monthly and rotate between various community locations on the North Shore and in South Auckland. For the latest information on these and other events check out our calendar. Spoken Word gives people the opportunity to share their stories, views and words in front of an audience. It provides a base for reflection, and offers a positive space for improved confidence and engagement.

SUP open mic nights encourage the sharing of stories from all backgrounds, enhancing community and increasing collaboration. The set up cultivates a culture of using your voice to be an active participant in your community, and transforms the culture of storytelling into something that is relevant to younger generations. These events are always held in spaces that are open to all ages and we welcome poets from every age and stage. For students interested in participating in WORD - The Front Line, these stages are excellent practice for performing poetry in front of an audience.

 

 

 

South Summit

Māngere Arts Centre - Ngā Tohu o Uenuku
Fri 14th March, 9:00am - 3:30pm

Taking registrations for the 2025 South Summit on Friday 14th March!

Action Education & Fonua Ola present South Summit 2025, a FREE day-long spoken word event for Pasifika secondary school students in South Auckland! 🌟

Featuring Melodownz, Daisy Speaks, Denyce Su’a, Luani Nansen, Noah Tauti & more! Students will enjoy performances, take part in workshops, and share their own work. Kai & drinks provided!