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 IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS!
Hundreds of young poets from across Tāmaki Makaurau competed throughout our regionals and Semi-Final Heats and now we are down to the top 6 Teams! WORD - The Front Line showcases Auckland’s fiercest poets in the largets event of it's kind in Aotearoa. Featured on The Project, Māori Television, RNZ and The Hui, WORD - The Front Line is the only creative battlefield of its kind, equipping young people with poetry prowess for an opportunity to battle it out and confront the challenges that their generation faces. Ngā Puna o Waiōrea Zayed College for Girls De La Salle College Diocesan School for Girls Auckland Girls Grammar Alfriston College Who will be the 2024 Grand Slam Champions! For media enquiries message: [email protected]
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2023 Key Dates!11/11/2022 Weds, 1st February SUP
Weds, 1st March SUP Tues, 7th March WTFL Teacher’s Night Fri, 24th March Word Summit (TBC) Weds, 5th April SUP 10th, 11th or 13th May WTFL Regional Heat #1 TBC 17th, 18th or 20th May WTFL Regional Heat #2 TBC Weds, 7th June SUP Sat, 10th June WTFL Rā Toi Kupu Fri, 30th June Last day of Term 2 Weds, 5th July SUP (during school holidays) Sat, 29th - Sun 30th July WTFL Slam Camp Weds, 2nd August SUP Sat, 12th August WTFL Semi-Final #1 Sat, 19th August WTFL Semi-Final #2 Weds, 6th September SUP Sat, 16th September WTFL Grand Slam Weds, 4th October SUP (during school holidays) Saturday, 14th October Southside Showcase Weds, 1st November SUP
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2020 Grand Slam Judges!!!11/4/2020 It's that time of year again! The Word- The Front Line Grand Slam is going down this Saturday Nov. 7th at the Herald Theatre. We are down to the top 6 teams in Tāmaki Makaurau and these poets have had to work harder than any cohort in history to be here. Their voices are more important than ever! Make sure to grab your seats in advance. Tickets can be purchased from Ticketmaster Here. Our Judges for the Grand slam do not have an easy task ahead of them! Good thing they are such an incredible collection of artists. We are honoured to have them for this Saturday. Check them out and make sure to get your tickets!  Mazbou Q is a UK-born, Tāmaki Makaurau based Nigerian Kiwi rapper and producer. His unique musical background of golden-age hiphop, West African highlife and heavy metal forms the backdrop for his non-formulaic style of music. Inspired by the likes of Fela Kuti, The Roots and Oddisee, Mazbou Q is known for confronting his listeners with an unapologetic style of socio-political commentary, while engaging them in the complexities of his unique cultural identity. With the release of his 2020 EP, AFROTERNITY, Mazbou Q established himself as a voice that consistently and fearlessly shines a light on issues of justice and afrocentric consciousness - a voice he has also become recognised for outside of the domain of music.  Jahra Wasasala is a world-builder, movement psychopomp and writer of realms. Jahra is of Fijian/European origins and within Viti, she hails from the provinces of Macuata and Ba. A student of mythology, world-building and her own bloodlines, Jahra utilises her training and specialisation within performance activation, movement techniques, poetry and voice soundscape as a psychopomp for her shape-shifting and storytelling through the body's memory. Jahra's performance works have toured across Aotearoa, Australia, Hawai’i, Turtle Island/US, Berlin, Guahån and Canada, including a comissioned performance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2019. Through facilitation, Jahra has mentored with collectives, training institutions and initiatives throughout Aotearoa and overseas including Rising Voices, Pacific Tongues, Sailing Solo and Action Education. Jahra believes that we do not wait for the new worlds; we build them, with art as the ancestral gifting to be able to do that.  Local poet, writer and media personality Te Karere Scarborough (Ngāpuhi) has taught and performed poetry internationally and is a former member of the South Auckland Poets Collective.  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.
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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.
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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.
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Busting Myths11/29/2019 In 2018 Action Education was successful in it's application to the Mental Health Foundation and the Like Minds, Like Mine project to produce a series of web videos by and for young people on the topic of mental health. The campaign, Busting Myths, reached over 295,000 people in New Zealand and the videos were shared over 1,200 times. Content was written and performed by young people about their own experiences from what it means to be a man, cultural identity, childhood traumas, anxiety, Māori displacement, school pressures and more. A huge mihi to the Mental Health Foundation and the Like Minds, Like Mine project for supporting this kaupapa and allowing these young poets to share their truth so that others experiencing similar challenges know they aren't alone, and are able to learn about resources they can access if they need help. “Little red monster found home in my cranium, seems to be renting a space in my amygdala – I’m pretty sure his prior residence used to be under my bed.” Sometimes our thoughts can get on top of us. If your thoughts are worrying you, please reach out and talk to someone: You are not alone. Reach out to friends, whānau or a helpline. We’ve got you.
"Our boys are not broken, but damn – how we teach them to break.”
In this powerful piece Fili and Noah question what it means to be ‘a man’. No matter what you’ve been told, you are enough. Your personal strength does not come from holding things back, it comes from reaching out. |
