Archive for the ‘National identity’ Category

‘Māori Language Week is a special time every year to focus on and encourage and celebrate the use of Māori language. This year it takes place from 21 – 27 July 2008.

‘The week targets Māori language speakers, encouraging them to use the language more often and in more places. Many beginners and non-speakers are becoming more and more involved in celebrating the week too…’

Check out the full featured article on NZLive.com:

• Read it in English.
• Read it in te reo Māori.

Last night the programme for the 37th Wellington Film Festival was launched at the Paramount in Wellington. It’s always a packed event and the hottest ticket in town is the ’still warm from the press’ festival brochure. This year the brochure has a brand-spanking new format. It’s big, it’s glossy and it’s bulging with celluloid treats. The website has also been spruced up and it’s fabulous and informative - check it out at www.nzff.co.nz. And in a smart move the festival is making the most of our obsession with Web 2.0 and have their very own MySpace page where you can see snippets of some of the films on offer.

The 2008 Festival line-up is chock-a-block with good Kiwi talent and includes the largest number ever of feature-length New Zealand films. Well done, we say! Fourteen diverse works from the South to North Island represent the New Zealand of today in all its vibrant shades: idiosyncratic, traditional, outrageous, conformist, gritty, ephemeral.

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Once a year, twinkling in the winter sky just before dawn, Matariki (the Pleiades) signals the Māori New Year. This year, June 5 saw the rise of Pleiades and Matariki celebrations begin around the country.

Matariki is a time of celebration and reflection that everyone can take part in. Let NZLive.com introduce you to heaps of Matariki events where you can join in the spirit of the season.

There many ways to celebrate - from dawn services, drama and cook-offs to kapa haka, tours and tattooing. Matariki festivals, exhibitions and concerts abound.

Check out Te Ara - The encyclopedia of New Zealand to find out about the legends, significance to traditional harvests and the modern revival of Matariki. And if you want to know how to find Matariki, take a look at this great Beginners’ Guide to Matariki on the Signposts blog.

If you want to know more about the astronomy of Matariki, Te Papa, Waitangi Treaty Grounds and the Stardome Observatory are all running informative sessions. You’ll find some great things to do in the classroom on www.NZHistory.net.nz.

New Zealand Music Month is about showcasing Kiwi tunes and celebrating home-grown talent on our airwaves and stages. Each May, Music Month highlights and promotes local music and since it began in 2001, sales of New Zealand music have more than doubled and airtime for New Zealand music on commercial radio stations has also doubled.

This month www.nzhistory.net.nz harks back to Aotearoa’s musical roots with 31 reasons to love New Zealand music.

Whether we’re punching above our weight, cutting down tall poppies or mumbling the words to ‘God Defend New Zealand’, stories such as those of Kiwi Rock Royalty Split Enz or our 61-year-old New Zealand Symphony Orchestra are a musical history to be proud of.

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Play nicely with others! It seems that everywhere I go experts are talking about the benefits of collaboration, sharing and smart partnerships. I’ve recently attended two excellent and very different events: Webstock and an arts marketing workshop with international cultural facilitator Jerry Yoshitomi. However, a key message from both events was the value and importance of collaboration to help build your business or your audience.

One of the most recent examples of a successful collaboration in the cultural and tourism communities is the development of the Manaaki Card. The card is a discount card for tourists that includes a variety of Māori cultural activities, accommodation, arts and other wonderful tourism experiences.

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