Hokianga kōtiro kicks off to Asia for sports and cultural exchange
A group of rangatahi from the north are jetting off to Asia next month for a week of rugby and cultural exchanges.
Fourteen rugby league players who whakapapa to Hokianga will be spending time in China and Japan experiencing the local culture, playing flag football and engaging in cultural exchanges with their school hosts.
Kaiwhakahaere Kath Wharton (Te Hikutū, Te Māhurehure, Ngāti Tahu, Ngāti Whaoa) said the trip was about giving the girls more exposure and world experience.
“For our tamariki and our rangatahi in the north, sports is always at the forefront and we forget about our superpower and our taha Māori and how unique that is because we live and breathe it, we forget the uniqueness of it.”
She said they wee still working on their bracket to ensure they were able to reciprocate and show kindness to their school hosts.
“Our girls will ensure that they are ready to mihi our hosts and our guests, that we have protocol, that we have a poi we would like to teach during our cultural exchange.”
While overseas, the group will have ample opportunities to network and connect with others to strengthen their entrepreneurial leadership, Wharton said.
“So that’s what I’m hoping is we get together and have a really great time and they get to fill their kete with a whole lot of mātauranga they wouldn’t normally get.”
