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The winner of the University of Otago award for commitment to te reo Maori, Isaac MacCreadie (18), of The Catlins Area School, and the winner of the inaugural Otago Daily Times award for excellence in English, Kate Ellison (17), of St Hilda's Collegiate, at last night's Mana Pounamu Young Achievers Award ceremony in Dunedin last night. Behind them are other award-winners. Photo by Linda Robertson. |
The achievements of the top young Maori scholars from 26
Otago schools were recognised at the University of Otago's
annual Mana Pounamu awards ceremony last night.
About 300 people watched, and many performed haka and waiata,
as 40 awards were presented to rakataki (Maori youth) from
Otago secondary schools in two categories: tuakana (senior)
and teina (junior).
Two Mana Pounamu awards were established this year: the
Otago Daily Times award for excellence in English and
the University of Otago award for commitment to te reo Maori.
University of Otago acting director of Maori development
Janine Kapa said the Mana Pounamu awards celebrated the
success and achievements of young Maori.
They also recognised the potential of the region's rakataki
and could encourage them to undertake tertiary study.
"We want to identify leadership potential and provide
positive role models to rakataki Maori."
Scholarships were also announced at the ceremony and 19
recipients were given grants from the Otago Polytechnic and
AgResearch, Ms Kapa said.
"We had a lot of top contenders and some very hard choices.
These are amazing young people here," she said.
Schools were asked to nominate pupils in the tuakana and
teina categories, Ms Kapa said.
Polytechnic scholarships provides full fees payment for a
chosen course of study, next year, should the recipient
decide to pursue higher education at the institute.
The AgResearch award provides for participation at the
University of Otago hands-on-science week next year.
The awards are a Kai Tahu initiative supported by Ka Papatipu
Runaka ki Araiteuru, the University of Otago, Otago
Polytechnic, Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu and the Ministry of
Education.
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