The night's spectacular brought together crowds of experienced and the inexperienced to relish in the innovative language and worldview our rakatahi showcased on the stage for Ōtautahi Youth Poetry Slam at WORD Christchurch 2026. A percussion of clicks to invite us all to speak to the power of kupu, our rakatahi and our kōrero!
Celebrating the words of our rakatahi, round after round with the safety net of the first ding that hit the sweet spot for our rakatahi on the stage, the dreaded second ding we all don’t want to hear that reminds us that rules are still at play here, but don’t we love to push a boundary when it needs to be! If I had the space and word count to, I’d rattle off every single kōrero that was shared on the night, so let me tell you top favourites of the night!
Ko Ariana Tikao rātou ko Josaiah ko Victor ko Claudia ngā kaiwhakwā o te pō nei, our judges for the night had the intense weight on their shoulders as they converse and deliberate on the results of whose voice stood out from the crowd, whose kōrero conveyed a combination of emotions and whakaaro (thoughts) in whose kura would write their names into history as this year marks the first recipients of the award created by John Jeet!
Kōrero from our judges of the night extended comments of ‘own the stage!’ and a comment that still lingers with me to this moment, ‘I’m sure I heard your tupuna talking through you… it’s the vision Aotearoa needs to aspire to!’ as I too felt the presence of the tupuna of these rakatahi as they took to the stage.
A clever way to tantalise the ears of our judges was welcoming in the night's "sacrificial poet" Solomona Davis who spoke in tones that set the foundation of what the night could entail. ‘A linkage in the great chaos … and who called them gods, when their names belong to Earth?’. Solomona spoke openly on the political injustices regarding modern day technology that takes away from the ways of old as well as inviting the challenge to us all who need the finer details deconstructed to its core, ‘laptop shields … political platforms somethings don’t need translation!’ Solomona made me internalise for myself where the sense of my identity as a child that never questioned just went!
E rima ngā kapa e tū ana ki te ātamira, we had 5 groups stand and speak the truth that’s been lingering in the back thoughts of these rakatahi for a while now. What a fitting time for some of these topical kōrero to come out!
‘Injustice is bullshit!’
My ethnic roots should not define me. A powerful kōrero put forth by our rakatahi at Hillmorton High School where they spoke about the double standards and indifference with siblings, which for me could only be spoken LOUDER FOR THOSE IN THE BACK TO HEAR, its misuse of authority and undermining my autonomy. The classmates in my class only see the size of me but not my inner personality, which again I can only ask you SAY IT LOUDER FOR THOSE IN THE BACK TO HEAR. I’m not trying too hard, nothing's wrong with me but there’s something wrong with the world, I to remember saying this to myself in times where the self-doubt crept in, SAY IT LOUDER FOR THOSE IN THE BACK TO HEAR! ‘Before goodbyes could be said, when times were hard, we were the ones to blame, and no one should ever be scared of sunrise.’ A reminder to us all that injustice really is bullshit, so let's not dull our voices, SAY IT LOUDER FOR THOSE IN THE BACK TO HEAR!
‘Kawanatanga, the people that rule this country’
A topical and timely manner as we begin the countdown for the elections and what a wero these tama of Whakapūmau: Ngā taiohi o te toi kupu put up for us to sit and reflect on. A life of luxury, or at least we strive towards, but at least we are doing our best, or so we may think! In this kōrero, I heard the future, the way forward and that’s through kawangatanga. Are we really doing our best e te whānau? Does a life of luxury mean riches and jewels or is a life of luxury one that’s free and holds space for individual autonomy? Are you really doing your best? Hmm I think I’ve got some work to do!
‘What a curse it is!’
What a curse it must be for our rakatahi to have to live in the shadows of ideas that WE put onto them! Our rakatahi from Whakapūmau: Ngā kōhine toi kupu speaks out about defining self, and not letting others claim or define me! ‘My white girl skin doesn’t characterise me on the inside and it doesn’t define my toto Māori (Māori blood).’ A statement that comes with a heavy weight, but who created that weight, me or you? We should not have to fit into the model to fit in, it’s those narrow minds that lock my definition in before you see my potential. I just wonder what life would feel like if instead of assuming and defining, we actually asked the questions and think honestly as to why stigma is put around wāhine so much, especially Māori wāhine! What a curse it is to be a wāhine Māori, or should I rephrase, ‘what a curse it must be not to see this wāhine Māori!’
‘The international student show!’
Our rakatahi from Papanui High School really knew how to challenge my whakaaro on what it’s like to navigate a white stream as a brown girl navigating it. The time to act is now and our rakatahi are awake and ready! What I see are rakatahi with strong minds and an unapologetic filter that makes us as pakeke (adults) shiver slightly to our rakatahi, they are awake and ready so don’t be scared, get behind them! ‘We refuse to be tamed into the systematic cage of routine!’ which now as I am getting older, I’ve realised how I am now conditioned into the cycle of routine, why! Pushing me to think about the diversities within my brown skin at the same of feeling trapped into a life that was chosen for me, love the challenge so stay woke rakatahi!
‘Neurodiversity is soo accepted!’
The synergy found within this dynamic duo from Villa Maria College was an effortless masterpiece into what the world looks like when adding a bit of spice, a bit of curiosity, a bit of a mystery into this kōrero surrounding neurodiversity. For something so important for us, these rakatahi really made me think why there isn’t more awareness, or maybe it is the caller at the end of the line oblivious to the world around them! ‘It’s funny how everyone tells me how to be autistic, I am autistic but I am not a statistic!’ I heard that line deep. I’d like to hope that there comes a day where we can accept all our differences to see how much better we all would be!
‘Ko Te Aho Matua!’
Ki ngā tauira o Te Aho Matua o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori, nāia tā mātou nei mihi manamanahau ki a koutou, e rongo ana mātou e oho tonu ana koutou, nou te ao i poipoi, kaua e ware kei kōnei mātou.
An acknowledgement to our whānau past, present and future as this year our mareikura, our kōhine from Te Kura Whakapūmau i te reo Tūturu ki Waita took out this year's Rakatahi Poetry Slam, and what a way to honour them with our whānau wakening up The Piano with the voices of many, inviting Tāne Rore to stand beside you for this haka. A surprise haka moment that further made the point that our rakatahi are the future, a reminder that tutu fingers and a dabble in the arts of written, spoken and that potential is still alive.
Toi kupu, toi rakatahi, toi kōrero!
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Photos from the event
View photos from the Ōtautahui Youth Poetry Slam final
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