Tu Tangata impacts students

The Tu Tangata Festival, which celebrates its 33rd year as Wellington schools’ Pacific festival, can have an impact on students’ lives by committing them to tertiary study.

While the festival is organised by a volunteer komiti, consisting of one teacher and two students from each of the participating schools, all students are fully involved in all decisions.

Although the focus of the festival is to celebrate and embrace Pacific culture through music and dance, the major focus for the komiti is to develop and foster student leadership.

Each school is awarded a leadership award to present to one of their student leaders who have shown true leadership with their group and within their school community.

The award, however, is only given to students who are continuing their education after secondary school.

Melissa Ifi was one of the award winners last year. “Receiving the award was a real incentive to go on to tertiary study. It would have been easy just to find work, but the thought of wasting that money made me decide to stick with my decision to go to uni,” she said.

The eight schools taking part this year are St Catherine’s, Rongotai College, St Mary’s College, Wellington East Girls’ College, Wainuiomata High School, St Patrick’s College, Taita College and Bishop Viard College.

The Tu Tangata Festival will be held on Monday August 8th, 2011 from 7pm at the Wellington Opera House.