Te Kaieke Tohora

Sir Timoti Karetu, of Ngai Tuhoe and Ngati Kahungunu, has taught students at both secondary and tertiary level, was professor of Maori at Waikato University, started the intensive language school Te Kura Reo o Waimarama in 1989 and was a key instigator in the formation of Te Panekiretanga o te Reo, the Institute of Excellence in Maori established in 2003. For many years, he was the Maori Language Commissioner and Executive Director of Te Kohanga Reo National Trust, and has served on the Boards of Te Waka Toi, Toi Maori and the National Library as well as acting as Chairperson of Aotearoa Traditional Maori Performing Arts Festival Committee and Te Mangai Paho. He has translated numerous books into te reo Maori. He received a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order for public services in 1993 and a knighthood of the NZ Order of Merit for services to the Maori language in 2017.

Witi Ihimaera is of Te Whanau a Kai, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Rongowhakaata, Tuhoe, Te Whanau a Apanui and Ngati Porou descent. He was the first Maori to publish a novel, Tangi, in 1973. He has subsequently gone on to become one of New Zealand’s leading writers. He is passionate about writing Maori stories and creating opportunities for them to be shown not only in print but also in theatre and on film. His memoir, Maori Boy, won the Ockham Award for the best non-fiction work, 2016. His play, All Our Sons, won six Wellington theatre awards and was produced by the Auckland Theatre Company in 2018. He has since published the second volume of his memoir and written an opera, Flowing Water, which is set in the Waikato during the New Zealand Wars.

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