WORD - THE FRONT LINE '26 | GRAND SLAM 🤯 We find ourselves at the end of yet another beautiful WTFL season. That's 13 years!? Yet every year continues to blow us away. The absolute power, grace, and life from our poets is an absolute privilege to behold. 2026 WORD Whānau, THANK YOU for your voices that continue to uplift us all and challenge our hearts to speak. Thank you for stepping up to your front lines to slay your giants whilst holding each other so strong in the process. This world is better, when you are at the forefront, pen in hand, truth in the other! Big mihi to all our funders Creative New Zealand, Foundation North, Auckland Regional Arts and Culture, Ministry of Youth Development, J R McKenzie Trust, and MAS Foundation for generously supporting us, and investing in young artists and directly impacting the future of Aotearoa in a major way. 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, De La Salle College, Marcellin College, and your 2026 WTFL Champions, Zayed College for Girls! Congratulations again to you all! Thank you to all the team at Auckland Live for hosting us and providing professional stages, sound, and lighting for our poets. Special shouts to Ngā Kōhine o te Kupu, Dilworth College, and Harper from Avondale College for gracing our stage, we are blessed to have you join us. To our judging panel, Koko Telfer, Tom Scott, Mama Seebs, and Vincent Nathan! A hefty lineup that held down the hardest job of the night! Absolute legends. 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, and Nathaniel Howe for capturing lifelong memories for our poets and programme. Shoutout to DJ Nualan for spinning the beats! Not just at Grand Slam, but the WHOLE YEAR! A reminder to all our poets that Word – The Front Line is but one platform. The power to change the world already exists within all of you. Keep writing! Action Ed got your back. See you in 2027 folks!

4 days out from Grand Slam, and it's Māori language week! Celebrate with us with 2025 Waitākere College poets Taipua and Delta! 🙌🏽 TOITŪ TE RANGATAHI! TOITŪ TE REO MĀORI! TOITŪ TE WORD - THE FRONT LINE! GET YA TICKETS NOW! LINK IN BIO! Hari Wiki o te Reo Māori ✨️

WTFL'26 GRAND SLAM JUDGES! 🔥 Stoked to introduce your judging panel this year! Koko is a proud queer Pasifika poet hailing from the lands of Upolu, Samoa and Niue. They are born and raised in South Auckland and strive to use their poetry as a tool to uplift their communities. WTFL alumni and Grand Slam finalist, performing on stages across Tamaki Makaurau, Koko tells tales of being afakasi, the struggles of diaspora, navigating grief, and highlighting the joy of their people. 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. 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. Vincent Nathan is a storyteller forged in fire and memory; a writer, poet, and spoken word artist whose voice carries both the weight of whakapapa and the pulse of the present. With over two decades immersed in theatre, performance, and the art of language, his work does not simply speak… it summons. Whether on stage or page, his work is an offering… and a challenge: to listen closer, to see clearer, and to stand in the discomfort of truth. 🗓: 19TH SEP ⏰️: 7PM 📍: Aotea Centre 🎟: Link in Bio #WTFL

It’s that time of year already! The fiercest poetry competition in Aotearoa is back in Tāmaki Makaurau! More than a poetry slam, THIS IS THE GRAND SLAM! Word - The Front Line is a community of leaders, storytellers, and changemakers from across the city that gather to connect and celebrate each other in a poetic battlefield unlike any other. Come along with your whānau and friends to celebrate the top 6 high school teams, across two semifinal heats as they battle for a chance to compete at the Grand Slam. We need to show up for our rangatahi so let’s pack the house out! Grand Slam 2026 Finalists! Diocesan School for Girls Wesley College Marcellin College Alfriston College Zayed School for Girls De La Salle College #actioned #WTFL

YOU HAD ARA TOI QUESTIONS! WE GOT ARA TOI ANSWERS! @sheldonrua_ doing his best but if there are still more questions though, fire em our way 😂🫡 open to 18 - 24 year old creatives of any discipline, not just poets. TAG SOMEONE WHO NEEDS TO SIGN UP. 🚨 Supported by #actioned

Save me! As in, save this post for friends and whānau who have questions about getting enrolled to vote in time for the General Election 2026. Voting is contagious - the more people we have voting early, the easier it’ll be for everyone on the day. Drama free voting means: Checking details / Getting enrolled NOW Getting others enrolled by the 4th of Oct Get amongst it! THAT'S US!

WORD - The Front Line Semi-Finals '26! 🥳 What. A. Moment. We saw truth, passion, and creativity pour out from our top 14 teams, as they left it all on the stage! Each year our rangatahi continue to raise the bar and we are still buzzing from semis. To all our WORD whānau ‘26, 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. What an honour to witness your creativity and journey with us. 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 Wesley College Alfriston College De La Salle College Marcellin College WTFL 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 Jessie Fenton, Damien Levi, Talia Stanley, Mark Esekielu, COCOSHAKIM, Onehou Strickland, Sherry Zhang, and Rahman Bashir. 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), Chris Matthews, and Nathaniel Howe 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. Every year is an absolute BANGER! Big mihi to our funders, Creative New Zealand, Foundation North, Ministry of Youth Development, and Auckland Council Regional Arts and Culture. Folks, get ready. WE HAVE A GRAND SLAM APPROACHING! #wtfl #actioned

SUP CENTRAL | FINAL DOUBLE FEATURE! 🚨 Our final Coaches Double Feature of the year is happening next week 🙌🏽🤩 PULL UP NEXT WEDNESDAY! Jai Jai Selkirk (he/him) aka Tākiwira’s finest was born and raised in Dargaville, Northland (home of the Ranfurly Shield) before being adopted by South Auckland, where he currently resides in the 275. A forklift driver, performer and coach. His dynamic poetry mixes hard, gritty truths with light-hearted, playful humor. Winner of some slams, robbed of more, the peoples champion wherever he goes. Jai speaks from the heart, and his words resonate with the soul. Jenny Jenny Rockwell (she/her) is a writer and poet whose work has appeared in The Poetry New Zealand Yearbook, VICE, The Spinoff, Rapture, Symposia, and Rat World. She has won WORD The Front Line, the Going West Writers Slam, and the HER Festival Slam, and has represented Tāmaki Makaurau at the National Poetry Slam and Aotearoa at the Trans-Tasman Slam. Her debut poetry collection, Vultures, is published by Dead Bird Books. Drawing on southern gothic themes, Rockwell’s work explores queerness, womanhood, religion, and redemption. 🗓: September 2nd ⏰️: 7pm Start 📍: @studioone.toitu 💵: FREE! Open mic sign ups on the day!

We are one sleep away from Semi #2, and to help bring the hype thought we’d introduce you to our judges! Jessie Fenton is a poet, a criminal lawyer, and a weapon with a sewing machine. She’s a former Word coach, a national slam runner up, she’s won slams everywhere from WOMAD to the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, and next Thursday, she’ll be performing at Basement Theatre as part of GOD MOTHERS, a blistering poetry show about motherhood and otherhood. Damien Levi (Te Āti Haunui-a-Paparangi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāpuhi, Pākehā) is a publisher, editor and arts facilitator. He is the founder of Āporo Press, editor of the essay collection Tāmaki Makaurau 2025: Essays on Life in Auckland (2025), co-editor of Spoiled Fruit: Queer Poetry from Aotearoa (2023) with Amber Esau, and was the lead editor of the online arts and literature journal bad apple. His poetry and essays have been published online and in print. Talia Stanley - (she/they) is proudly a disabled Samoan creative from Tāmaki Makaurau. She is the 2024 New Zealand Poetry Slam Champion and has over 12 years of experience in the arts and community sector. She works for The D*List as their Community Development Lead and is studying her Masters in Community Development and Social Impact. Talia believes by supporting and amplifying community voices and stories, we can create meaningful and positive change. 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. A New Zealand Samoan, Mark’s journey is marked by a deep commitment to supporting youth and developing others. He holds qualifications in Psychology, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Social Work, and Business, blending his cultural, clinical and strategic insight. 📅 Saturday 22nd August, 1pm 📍 Herald Theatre, Auckland Live 🎟️ $5/$10 link in bio!

Action Ed Community Spotlight 🔦 One of our new additions to the Action Ed team, but definitely not a stranger to our mahi! Ari has come up through poetry guiding some of our best, including herself, to championships! Every poem she has is a haymaker! 👊 Fav poet: "impossible question but Stevie Davis-Tana has a special place in the ngākau" @steviesion Highlight of your '26 so far: "Joining the Action Ed team (unlimited slam camps)" Word of advice: "Talent not met with practice will simply fade. Keep practicing your art ✨" #AE #spotlight #community

With less than 24 hours until the first heat we thought we’d reveal our amazing judges for WTFL Semi’s Heat #1! Jesse Gibson (COCOSHAKIM) is a South Auckland-based poet, filmmaker, musician, and contemporary artist. He facilitates youth creativity through Te Karanga Trust and has exhibited work across Auckland. Jesse is passionate about storytelling, Pacific voices, and supporting emerging young creatives. 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 legendary SAPC, which has seen her travel the country performing and leading workshops in Spoken Word and if you’ve watched ahikāroa, kairākau, tangata pai, te pāmu kūmara to name a few then you already know her work. Sherry Zhang 章雪莉 is a writer working across theatre, prose and poetry. She is born and raised in Tāmaki Makaurau. Her family are from Fujian, China. She was the editor of The Pantograph Punch, an arts and culture journal, and co-manager of Te Kāhui Creative writing, a rangatahi led creative writing programme for underserved communities. Her play Yang/Young/杨, co written with Nuanzhi Zheng, is published with Playmarket, and was staged at the Basement Theatre with ATC Here & Now festival. Her poetry can be found in The Spinoff, A Clear Dawn: New Asian Voices from Aotearoa New Zealand, and Poetry Aotearoa 2026. And most importantly - word the frontline alumni of 2015 and 2026! She currently works as a criminal defence lawyer, and is chipping away on more creative projects. Rahman Bashir is a writer, academic, planner and designer. He hasserved as the president for both the Sudanese Society in New Zealand for two terms and the regional African body in Tamaki, African Communities Forum Inc, ACOFI and is currently a Principal Specialist for Auckland council. Writing, both poetry and prose has been integral to how he’s been able to orient and navigate how we serves and leads in community. 📅 Saturday 15th August, 1pm 📍 Herald Theatre, Auckland Live 🎟️ $5/$10 link in bio!

SUP South is back at Youthline Manukau with two incredible features! STELLAR & MATILDA 💐🙌🏽 Stand Up Poetry Open Mic nights make spoken word poetry relevant and accessible by providing a public platform for emerging spoken word poets. Features: Matilda Clack is a poet and teacher at Manurewa High School. A Word-Up runner up and Word-The Front Line finalist during her final year of high school, Matilda has been involved in coaching, facilitating, judging and performing poetry since. She is a two-time JAFA Regional Finalist and a Trans-Tasman Poetry Slam Champion, and passionate about empowering our rangatahi through self-expression and education. Stellar Aigalefili Makarita Pritchard is a Spoken word poet, author, and actress. She has competed in many slams: a winner of Jafa slam 2019, a word the Frontline finalist, the winner of word up 2019 and was apart of an award winning poetry collection - Pacific Navigators, appeared in Shortland Street as Nova Galaxy and a Coach of WTF Open mic is open to all styles, ages and backgrounds. Bring a poem, verse or just yourself! FREE - Sign up on the day. This is an uncensored space but hate speech free. #actioned #SUP

ARA TOI IS HERE! We want to invite you to be part of something we are really excited about. Action Ed is running Ara Toi in 2026 - a free, four-month programme created for rangatahi - young people aged 18–24 who are ready to back themselves and take the next step in their career or creative journey. We built this programme because we know that getting into work as an artist is not just about having the right skills on paper. It is about knowing who you are, having the right support around you, and feeling ready. That is exactly what this programme is designed to do. Open to all artistic forms, not strictly for poets. Please get in contact for our info pack for more details. If you know rangatahi who might be a great fit, TAG EM! And of course, if you have any questions at all, just reach out - we'd love to hear from you. 🎨: @arihunnid Be in quick, only 30 spots are available. DO NOT SLEEP! #actioned #aratoi

t’s that time of year already! The fiercest poetry competition in Aotearoa is back in Tāmaki Makaurau! More than a poetry slam, Word - The Front Line is a community of leaders, storytellers, and changemakers from across the city that gather to connect and celebrate each other in a poetic battlefield unlike any other. Come along with your whānau and friends to celebrate the top 14 high school teams, across two semifinal heats as they battle for a chance to compete at the Grand Slam. We need to show up for our rangatahi so let’s pack the house out! This year the semifinals will be taking place on two different dates. For you to support your favourite teams, please make sure you read the details carefully. The top 3 schools from each heat will make it to the Grand Slam on Sept. 19th! HEAT 2: Mount Albert Grammar School. Tangaroa College. Diocesan School for Girls. Wesley College. Avondale College. Henderson High School. Alfriston College.

SUP South is back at Youthline Manukau with two incredible features! STELLAR & MATILDA 💐🙌🏽 Stand Up Poetry Open Mic nights make spoken word poetry relevant and accessible by providing a public platform for emerging spoken word poets. Features: Matilda Clack is a poet and teacher at Manurewa High School. A Word-Up runner up and Word-The Front Line finalist during her final year of high school, Matilda has been involved in coaching, facilitating, judging and performing poetry since. She is a two-time JAFA Regional Finalist and a Trans-Tasman Poetry Slam Champion, and passionate about empowering our rangatahi through self-expression and education. Stellar Aigalefili Makarita Pritchard is a Spoken word poet, author, and actress. She has competed in many slams: a winner of Jafa slam 2019, a word the Frontline finalist, the winner of word up 2019 and was apart of an award winning poetry collection - Pacific Navigators, appeared in Shortland Street as Nova Galaxy and a Coach of WTF Open mic is open to all styles, ages and backgrounds. Bring a poem, verse or just yourself! FREE - Sign up on the day. This is an uncensored space but hate speech free. #actioned #SUP

Action Ed Community Spotlight 🔦 Thee one and only! @billy.rmc One of the most gifted young artists of this generation, and an absolute top lad. Holding it down at Action Ed while Ken is overseas with whānau! We are so lucky to have you join us brother, GIVE IT UP FOR BILLY! Fav poet: "Jai" @tutira.jaina.iwi 🐐 Highlight of your '26 so far: "Slam Camps & Open Mics" Word of advice: "Always write whatever’s on your mind! Not every poem needs to make it out of the notes app." #AE #spotlight #community

AMPED FOR CAMP! Slam Camp 2026 was a TIME! How blessed are we to share these moments with our Word - The Front Line '26 cohort!? Action packed weekend full of workshops, activities, and rangatahi building connections to help carry each other not only through the WORD season, but through life. THANK YOU, POETS! This is always a highlight for us as we witness how you show up and support each other with so much care and respect over such a short time together, and none of this is possible without you. As you prep full steam ahead for Semi-Finals, know that we see you and we got you! GO IN!!! Amazing moments like this, however, truly take a village whom we cannot thank enough ❤️ A big mihi to our staff, coaches, volunteers, and alumni! Having not only a team, but a whanau of passionate youth workers and creatives spanning generations means there is an undoubtable trust and work ethic for us to look out for our young people and each other. Thank you for going above and beyond always! A huge shoutout and thank you to our team of facilitators, especially @villalemanu. We admire and appreciate the commitment to your craft and our young people. We all learnt something crucial for us to improve as both artists and people. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise with us! Shoutout to @melodownz and @deadforest_gg! We got to witness two of Aotearoa's greatest ever! Thank you for inspiring our rangatahi with your experiences and art. Thank you to Peter Snells Youth Village and all their amazing staff for hosting us throughout camp! Thank you to Peniel Fa’amausili and @solephotographynz for capturing these lasting memories so beautifully! Thank you to our teachers for supporting us along the way. And if you are ready for more Word - The Front Line madness.. get your tickets. WE'LL SEE YOU AT SEMIS! #actioned #WTFL

SUP CENTRAL! 🚨 Feat Zech Soakai & Ngaio Simmons A cold night but absolute heaters on the mic, shoutout to all our poets who jumped up to share with us! Thank you @studioone.toitu for hosting and taking good care of our team! And a special mihi to you Zech and Ngaio for showing us the heart of your poetry, absolute STARS! 💐✨️ SEE YOU AT THE NEXT ONE! WHO DO YOU WANT ON THE LINEUP? #actioned #SUP

SUP CENTRAL! 🚨 Feat Zech Soakai & Ngaio Simmons A cold night but absolute heaters on the mic, shoutout to all our poets who jumped up to share with us! Thank you @studioone.toitu for hosting and taking good care of our team! And a special mihi to you Zech and Ngaio for showing us the heart of your poetry, absolute STARS! 💐✨️ SEE YOU AT THE NEXT ONE! WHO DO YOU WANT ON THE LINEUP? #actioned #SUP

It’s that time of year already! The fiercest poetry competition in Aotearoa is back in Tāmaki Makaurau! More than a poetry slam, Word - The Front Line is a community of leaders, storytellers, and changemakers from across the city that gather to connect and celebrate each other in a poetic battlefield unlike any other. Come along with your whānau and friends to celebrate the top 14 high school teams, across two semifinal heats as they battle for a chance to compete at the Grand Slam. We need to show up for our rangatahi so let’s pack the house out! This year the semifinals will be taking place on two different dates. For you to support your favourite teams, please make sure you read the details carefully. The top 3 schools from each heat will make it to the Grand Slam on Sept. 19th! HEAT 1 Marcellin College De La Salle College Dilworth School Manurewa High School Northcote College Selwyn College Zayed College Tickets available at aucklandlive.co.nz! SPREAD THE WORD! GET IN QUICK! #WTFL #actioned

SUP CENTRAL | DOUBLE FEATURE! 🚨 WTFL season is in full swing, so why not hear from two of our 2026 coaches!? 🙌🏽🤩 PULL UP NEXT WEDNESDAY! ZECH Zech Soakai is an award winning poet, curator, researcher, educator & producer. He wrote and released his debut book For All We Know, and is stoked for that little self-published print to have sold 500 copies. Having cut his teeth through legendary stages like Rising Voices, Poetry Idol & Going West, he finds more of his time working at the level of systems-thinking and curriculum designing. Whether a literary festival, classroom or theoretical problem, he continues to ponder how we make more space for ourselves to laugh unabashedly, speak bravely and listen generously NGAIO Ngaio Simmons (Ngāti Porou) is a poet born and raised in the diaspora, currently based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Having placed second in the NZ National Poetry Slam in 2022, Ngaio is also the 2023 Auckland Regional Slam Champion and the University of Auckland Slam Champion for both 2022 and 2023. He is currently working on his first collection of poems. 🗓: August 5th ⏰️: 7pm Start 📍: @studioone.toitu 💵: FREE! Open mic sign ups on the day! #actioned #SUP #openmic

With deep gratitude, ngā mihi nui ki a Creative New Zealand 🙏 We're so grateful to share that we've received funding support over 3 years from @creativenz, helping us continue our mahi across all of our programmes, using spoken word poetry to support rangatahi across Aotearoa to find their voice, tell their stories, and grow. If you have ever been to anything Action Ed has curated, you know can expect to see us running it up again! This support means our kaupapa can keep reaching more rangatahi, whānau, and communities. Ngā mihi mahana for backing the work we do 💛 Captured by @solephotographynz #CreativeNZ #SpokenWord #Rangatahi #ActionEducation

He Reo Rangatahi '26! Our 2026 cohort for HRR popped off this year! Spending a whole day with our Action Ed team smashing through a spoken word poetry intensive which saw these rangatahi fine tune their craft and develop their voice and performance as poets. Not only did they speedrun an intensive, but they also had the opportunity to slam with a piece they have been working on at the end of the evening! Congratulations to our slam winner, Milan from Ngā Puna o Waiōrea, and to all our poets who got up on the mic to spit their truth. We cannot wait to see you all again. Special shoutout to @solephotographynz for capturing these moments for us! That's a wrap! See you in 2027!? 👀 #actioned

Kohinga Whetū ✨️ Papakura showed OUT for our Matariki showcase! Such a dope night with everyone on the lineup throwing absolute haymakers on the mic 🎤🔥 thank you poets for stepping up and smashing it! Special shouout to the Papakura Museum, and Papakura Local Board for partnering with us to make this night happen, here's to many more! Mānawatia a Matariki #actioned

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