Action Education Inc

One of the members from Rehekōrero, Billy, has an incredible opportunity to travel to London in July as a part of the Young Shakespeare Company and will perform at the Globe theatre 🎭

To support, you can donate here:

MASTER W H MCCARTHY
06-0145-0178686-01

Please share with your friends and whānau!

Stand Up Poetry July is going to be fire! We have an intergnerational feature with some poetic legends from South Auckland.

SUP open Mic nights make spoken word poetry relevant and accessible by providing a public platform for emerging spoken word poets.

Open mic is open to all styles, ages and backgrounds. Bring a poem, verse or just yourself! Sign up on the day.

This is an uncensored space but hate speech free. Wednesday July 3rd, 7PM. Youthline Manuaku 145 St George St. Papatoetoe.

FEATURES:

Zech Soakai is a storyteller and educator from Poutasi, Upolu, Samoa and Ha’ato’u, Ha’apai, Tonga. Raised in South Auckland, he considers his work as a writer, orator and educator significant in village building and warrior raising - so that his communities may continue to flourish. Zech is an award-winning performance poet and coach. His written works can be found in: ‘Rapture: An Anthology of Performance Poetry in Aotearoa New Zealand’ (AUP, 2023) and ‘Remember Me: Poems to Learn by Heart from Aotearoa New Zealand’ (AUP, 2023).

Lex is a 21 year old Māori poet, writer and actor hailing from Ngati Hine and Ngapuhi. Born and raised in South Auckland, they are the 2021 SUP Slam Poetry champion, and Word the Front Line alumni and coach.

Rā Toikupu took place this past Saturday which brings together the 14 teams who advanced from our regional heats for WORD – The Front Line 2024!

This day focuses on whakawhanaungatanga, encouraging a safe space for our young people to share kai, get to know one another and discover more about themselves through poetry, meet their coaches and take part in workshops designed for our rangatahi to amplify their voices throughout the day.

We have a village of very special people to thank who made this all possible!

A big mihi to Te Mahurehure Marae for hosting us with open arms. We are so grateful to continue to be in your beautiful space and experience your Manaakitanga. Thank you for taking care of us and our rangatahi!

Another big thank you to Peniel Fa’amausilii and Sole Photography for capturing the core memories for our WORD whanau, we really appreciate and value you!

To our coaches, guest performers, alumni and staff – behind the scenes and on the front line, we are in awe of how you all continually show up for our rangatahi and also, for us. Thank you for your time, expertise and effort in every space!

To our teachers – thank you for being the backbone for our young people! The support we have from you does not go unnoticed especially being aware of how important your role is in the lives of our young people.

Thank you so much to our poets, orators and leaders for creating this experience with your truths and stories. WORD would not exist without your willingness, passion, bravery and creativity and we cannot wait to see your journey’s unfold!

A huge shout out and thank you to Creative New Zealand for your continued support in making this happen!!

A huge mihi to all of the teams who participated in the four Regional Heats held over the last two weeks. We want to send out a huge congrats to every poet that stepped up to their front lines and spoke life and truth into this space! Each of you represented yourselves, your schools, and your communities so strongly. Every poet should be so proud!

As we reflect on the theme, ‘Māwherangi a tama roto ka taka, kāpuia ake ka pūrangiaho’ (We may not have it all together, but together we have it all), this whakatauki shone through all 4 heats, the diversity, richness and depth of world view, experience and matauranga expressed on stage was phenomenal!

A special shout out to our judges who had to be there for multiple nights and saw some of the fiercest regionals we have seen in our 11 year history. We send a huge thank you to TAPAC and The Mangere Arts Centre for your incredible manakitanga and beautiful spaces that provided such professional stages for our poets!

Most importantly we want to send all our love and appreciation to the teachers for all of your support! Massive respect to all of the whanau who came through as well!

This was an extremely tough decision. Please know that even if your team doesn't make it through there will be many other opportunities to participate this year.

In no particular order, here are the 14 teams who will advance to the next stage of WORD - The Front Line 2024:

Aorere College Team A (Lavenitani, Georose, Chantel, Tamalisi, Firdos)
Diocesan College For Girls
De La Salle College Team A (Lipooti, Frank, William, Mala’efo’ou, Aitasi, Valentino)
Mount Roskill Grammar School
Zayed College For Girls
Auckland Girls Grammar School
McAuley High School
Waitākere College Team 1 (Mya, Zara, Esha, Angelicia)
Alfriston College Team A (Ariel, Fajzelh, Mele, Joy, Sonya, Barry)
Ngā Puna O Waiōrea
Onehunga High School Team B (Taylah, Lile-Rose, Kara, Dennis, Nafisa, Asher)
Wesley College
Birkenhead College
St Dominic's Girls Catholic College

Tremendous thank you to our funders, Creative New Zealand Auckland Regional Arts and Culture for the ongoing support.

Stand Up Poetry is back WITH THE BIGGEST FEATURE OF THE YEAR!

WE GOT AN EXCLUSIVE FOLKS THAT YOU DO NTO WANT TO MISS!

SUP open Mic nights make spoken word poetry relevant and accessible by providing a public platform for emerging spoken word poets. Open mic is open to all styles, ages and backgrounds. Bring a poem, verse or just yourself! Sign up on the day.

This is an uncensored space but hate speech free.

When: Wednesday 5th June
Where: Youthline Manukau, 145 St George Street, Papatoetoe
Time: 7pm

FEATURE:

Ramon Narayan is one of the co-founders of South Auckland Poets Collective and the Manager of Action Education. He has worked in the youth sector for over 22 years and poetry and youth work have taken him around the globe. He can’t stop buying records, shoes and eating cheese.

THIS IS HIS FIRST AUCKLAND FEATURE IN 8 YEARS!!!

Sheldon Rua is a Māori-Samoan, interdisciplinary creative, born and bred in the heart of Papakura, $outh Auckland. He is the founder of Faleheddz House Movement, Projekt Team member, a past SAPC and Word: The Front Line coach/alumni. Always raw, always real, he aims to perpetuate the shine that lives within his communities through his art.

Had such an epic time at the Featherston Booktown Festival!! Was such an honour to work with the incredible Poets from Makoura College! Big ups to Projekt Team and Nafanua Kersel who we colabed with! Huge thank you to Pacific Arts - Creative New Zealand and Mary and the Team from Booktown! We would come back in a heart beat!!

Our Pasifika team journeyed out to the Featherston Booktown - a festival of books, storytelling and ideas - last weekend.

This snap is of our team with Pasifika tutors from Mākoura College who alongside students performed with members of the South Auckland Poets Collective Pasifika Power and was supported by our Pacific Arts Strategy. 🎙️

Erin Banks, guest writer at The Spinoff was also on the ground and shared their reflections on the weekend here: https://ow.ly/AgHc50RQkAf

Join some of New Zealand’s leading Spoken Word Poets for a free poetry workshop. This workshop is for 14 - 18 year olds will introduce all participants to writing poetry for both the page and the stage and allow them to express their worldview. Every participant will walk away with a draft of a poem, tools for writing and performance, as well as opportunities to share their work.

All levels of experience and communities welcome. Open to Poets, writers, MCs, or performers, etc.

When: Thursday 23rd May
Time: 4.30pm - 6.30pm
FREE but you must book your spot. Link in bio.

Action Education is Aotearoa’s leading youth spoken word poetry organisation and the founders of the Word-The Frontline High School Poetry Slam competition.

Booking is essential.

BREAKING NEWS ❗️

Welcome the newest member to the Action Education team, Sheldon Rua 🌊

Sheldon has always been a crucial part of our whānau and now we’re proud and fortunate to have him on our staff 👏🏻

Sheldon Rua is a young Māori-Samoan, multifaceted creative, born and bred in the heart of Papakura, $outh Auckland. From X Factor NZ, to 3x National HHI champ, to SAPC and Word: The Front Line coach/alumni, in his years of connecting to people over Aotearoa and the world, he has seen art impact lives in such raw and tangible ways that motivate, energize, and inspire intergenerational change.

WELCOME TO THE ELEVENTH YEAR OF WORD - THE FRONT LINE ‼️

And welcome back to Term 2!

We’re gearing up for WORD season and we hope you are too ✍️

Word - The Front Line registrations are open and close on Friday 10th May (next week ‼️)

High schools based in Tāmaki Makaurau can enter up to two teams with 4 - 6 members per team.

Registration link: https://form.jotform.com/233506366595868

For more information, visit www.actioneducation.co.nz or contact us via our socials 📩

SUP CENTRAL IS LIVE AND THE FEATURE IS LIT!

Stand Up Poetry Open Mic nights make spoken word poetry relevant and accessible by providing a public platform for emerging spoken word poets.

Open mic is open to all styles, ages and backgrounds. Bring a poem, verse or just yourself!

Sign up on the day.

This is an uncensored space but hate speech free.

When: Wednesday 1st May
Where: Studio One Toi Tū, 1 Ponsonby Road
Time: 7pm
FREE!

FEATURES:

AUT TOIKUPU is a poetry collective based at AUT City Campus. They are a collective of WTFL alumni and artists around the motu. The group is run by 2022 & 2023 Grand Slam Champions who have continued their writing journey in tertiary education. Mauri.

THROWBACK ⏮️

Last week we had a hearty turn out for Stand Up Poetry (SUP) South! Thank you so much to everyone who pulled up to support our poets and share space with us. Like Eric said, it felt like a showcase from the communities whose voices matter the most.

Big mini to Youthline Manukau for hosting us!

Huge shoutout and thank you to our features, Luani Nansen and Noah Tauti! It’s undeniable the talent you both hold and share through your art but most importantly, the passion you have for our young people and their stories.

Check out our socials for the dates and locations of the next SUP. It happens every first Wednesday of the month so we’ll see you there with more fire features! 🔥

We extend our deep gratitude to Lottery Auckland Committee for their recent funding that they awarded us towards our arts-based youth development programmes.

Thank you, Lotteries! You are legends!

WORD SUMMIT 2024 💥

We had 90+ rangatahi from across Aotearoa come together yesterday and immerse themselves in our national youth poetry conference, Word Summit! From Kaitaia to Ōtautahi, our rooms were full of connection, creativity and brilliance. With this being our first big youth event of the year, we couldn’t be prouder of our communities, as without them it wouldn’t have been possible.

Big mihi to our incredible facilitators Stevie Davis-Tana, MELODOWNZ, DaisySpeaks and Bailey Wiley! Your expertise, talent and dedication to our young people is a testament to how our communities and spaces continue to grow and thrive. Thank you for all your time and energy creating an unforgettable and safe environment for rangatahi to express themselves and learn.

Thank you to the Grey Lynn Community Centre for hosting us! We appreciate and love your space.

Thank you so much to the Ministry of Youth Development for supporting us in getting our Northland whānau down to Tāmaki for this experience and Foundation North for your continued support and belief in our young people. A huge shoutout to People Potential, Rainbow Youth Northland and Safer Communities Kaitaia for making the journey down to be with us! It was awesome having you!

Big shoutout and thank you to Domino's New Zealand, you are the best!

Shoutout and thank you to our performers, photographer, Daryl and DJ Mateo keeping the vibes on!

Most importantly, thank you to our teachers and kaimahi for your undeniable mahi and support of our rangatahi and our rangtahi for bringing your stories and openly sharing them from pen to paper to microphone. Experiences like this would not exist without your willingness to show up and share and we were all excited, inspired and grateful to witness all of you shine and speak your truth to power!

Stand Up Poetry is back in April with some absolute legends!

SUP open Mic nights make spoken word poetry relevant and accessible by providing a public platform for emerging spoken word poets.

Youthline Manukau
154 St. George St. Papatoetoe
7PM

Open mic is open to all styles, ages and backgrounds. Bring a poem, verse or just yourself! Sign up on the day.

This is an uncensored space but hate speech free.

FEATURES:

Noah (A.R.K) Tauti is a Samoan, Niuean artist born and raised Mangere. He is a Dancer, Poet and Rapper who is also a member of 4TK and Word - The Front Line alumni. He currently facilitates The Navigators Spoken Word Workshops & helps coach Word - The Front Line.

Luani Nansen is a NZ-born Samoan poet hailing from the villages of Falese’elā, Vaiusu, Satapuala, Lauli’i and Apolima Tai. Verses & Vibes legend, Action Education Crew Member, Navigators facilitator!
​
He aspires to be a Grammy award winner for white noise. nah joking. He aspires to be a solid orator, facilitating space, and working with the coolest crew frfr!

WORD SUMMIT WORKSHOPS 🖊️

We are so excited for our line up of workshops from some of Aotearoa’s leading creatives for Word Summit 2024!

Unfortunately registrations are full for this upcoming event, however we will have one at the end of the year so please watch our socials and contact us at [email protected] for further details 📧

Melodownz is a New Zealand MC, rapper and urban poet from Avondale, Auckland. Debuting in 2013, Melodownz has released solo projects including Beginners Luck, Avontales and Melo & Blues, as well as collaborative extended plays with Angelo King, IllBaz and Raiza Biza. He was the recipient at the 2023 Pacific Music Awards for Best Pacific Male Artist, Best Pacific Music Video, and Best Pacific Music Album Award for Lone Wolf. Melodownz has a new track and music video titled “Broke” out now on all platforms!

Bailey Wiley is critically acclaimed as one of New Zealand’s most vital and current emerging artists, winning Best Soul/Rnb Artist 2019 at the NZ Music Awards. Bailey’s fearless approach to performance engages the audience while offering a raw edge, where emotionality and passion are simultaneously embraced and evoked, creating light and shade throughout each vocal experience. Bailey’s collection of new tracks on the EP ‘Inevitable’ move across a range of genre from RnB Hip Hop to a stripped back, raw encounter of soul at its best. These songs are the epitome of an artist’s early works, lyrically raw, unblemished and original.

Daisy Lavea-Timo (Vailuutai, Samatau, Saipipi) has spent over 15 years working in the education, youth and public sector as an educator, youth worker, engagement practitioner and facilitator. A proud wife and mum of 3 girls, Daisy is the 2017 NZ Slam Poetry champion, has spoken and performed internationally, has a few degrees from the University of Canterbury and dabbles in Rugby League.

Stevie Davis-Tana is a māmā, creator, and spoken work poet living in Tāmaki Makaurau. She has a BA and a Masters, has travelled to Canada for an indigenous writers residency, and has produced a spoken word poetry visual album. She is passionate about creativity, identity, story telling, and mana motuhake!

REGISTER TODAY ‼️

Aotearoa’s largest youth poetry programme returns for 2024!

In our eleventh year, WORD – The Front Line is more than a slam, it is a community of poets, leaders and artists connecting through the power of spoken word poetry with a one of a kind creative experience.

High schools in Tāmaki Makaurau can enter up to two teams, with 4 – 6 members per team.

Register here: https://form.jotform.com/233506366595868

Registrations close Friday 10th May.

For more information, visit www.actioneducation.co.nz

“He reo rangtahi, He ao hurihuri – The voices of youth keep the world turning.”

⏪ FIRST SUP 2024 ☑️

Thank you to everyone who came to the first Stand Up Poetry Open Mic of 2024 last week!

(On a personal note from me (Talia) as I run the socials hehe)
It was special to be a room full of whānau and friends. I said that evening that although I was the feature, the excuse for me to perform was to see my friends and that’s the why of it all. Community. To share space with each other and encourage each other to shine and grow. So again, thank you so, so much for not just showing up for me, but for the kaupapa and community! (I also LOVE to listen and watch some of the heartiest poets in Aotearoa speak 🫡)

Big mihi to Studio One Toi Tū for hosting us and the continual support!

REMINDER: SUP happens every first Wednesday of the month. We have a calendar on our socials with the dates and venues so lock in team and we’ll see you there with stacked feature!

FIRST SUP OF 2024 💅🏾

Stand Up Poetry (SUP) Open Mic nights make spoken word poetry relevant and accessible by providing a public platform for emerging spoken word artists.

Your first feature for 2024 is Talia Stanley!

Talia Stanley (she/they) is a youth development worker, facilitator and spoken word artist from Tāmaki Makaurau. Talia has history in the poetry community as WORD – The Front Line alumni, poetry coach and judge and is a JAFA poetry slam winner. Talia is currently working for Action Education and writing themes involving body autonomy and disability advocacy through lived experience.

When: Wednesday 6th March
Where: Studio One Toi Tū, 1 Ponsonby Road, Grey Lynn
Time: 7pm

Open mic is open to all styles, ages and backgrounds! Bring a poem, a verse, a friend or just yourself.

These spaces are uncensored but hate speech free.

Stand Up Poetry (SUP) open mic nights are locked in for 2024!

SUP Open Mic nights make spoken word poetry relevant and accessible by providing a public platform for emerging spoken word artists. 🎤

The mic is open to all styles, ages and backgrounds. Bring a poem, a verse, a few friends or just yourself! There will be sign ups on the evenings.

These spaces are uncensored but hate speech free.

Our first feature has been confirmed and will be announced on Monday 👀 one clue, they’re staff 🫢

Share this with your friends and whānau, save the dates and we will see you on the mic!

Whangārei Pride Month Spoken word Poetry workshop series! ✨

Free Spoken word workshops throughout the month of March for our LGBTQIA+ creatives.

Open to poets of all styles and experience levels. All poets will leave with a draft of a poem and a chance to share each workshop.

Workshops will take place on the Tuesdays and Thursdays of the month of March 2024:
March 5th, 7th, 12th, 14th, 19th, 26th
From 4pm - 6pm
Open mic - March 28th (time tbc)
Location: Pride HQ, 65 John street, Whangārei CBD.

Register for the workshops here!

https://form.jotform.com/240517291274859

The Holding Space For Sudan & Palestine Workshop was such a powerful and uplifting event. We were honoured to facilitate that space and get to hear the incredibly powerful and stories of every poet, activist, and that took part. Huge shout out to our heroes at Yala & PYA for all that they do.

Saturday, Feb 24th. Those poets and many more will take the stage to help raise relief funds for those affected in Sudan and Palestine. Every dollar helps and this show WILL BE FIRE! If you are keen on performing, send us a message!

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/holding-space-for-sudan-palestine-open-mic-night-tickets-827665498787