By Gail Brown. For the next blog in the Pacific Women Leaders series I with Iokapeta Magele-Suamasi, or Ioka as she’s called, uses her hands to create art, and uses her heart to connect with her Pacific ancestry. As the Learning and Outreach Manager for the Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tamaki, everyone on Ioka’s team are all …
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By Gail Brown, wife of US Ambassador Scott Brown. For the next blog in the Pacific Women Leaders series, I met with Nora Swann, Designer for the Pacific Fusion Fashion Show . “I’m creative, flamboyant, loud, and fun. That’s me,” Nora Swann declares when asked to define her personal fashion style. She loves to visit op-shops to buy different patterns and textiles …
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If there’s one person you can count on to throw a party and pull together a crowd, it’s Nicole Rex. She has been involved in numerous Pacific and community events across Auckland and Wellington, including the Polynesian and Pasifika Festivals. Born in New Zealand, her large extended family is Niuean. Her grandfather, Sir Robert Rex, …
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By Public Affairs staff, U.S. Consulate Auckland. The high-energy, Hawaii-based Island Breeze team recently wrapped up a two-week cultural exchange tour of New Zealand with the support of the U.S. Embassy in NZ. While here, they highlighted the amazing culture of our 50th state, Hawai’i, and our shared Polynesian heritage – making stops in Auckland, Tauranga, …
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Admiral Harry Harris, along with Ambassador Scott Brown, New Zealand Minister of Defence, Hon. Ron Mark and Chief of the New Zealand Defence Force, Lt. Gen. Tim Keating participated in a mauri stones ceremony at the site of the United States Memorial, which will be installed at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this year. The …
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By Gail Brown. For the next blog in the Pacific Women Leaders series, I met with Ana File-Heather, owner of Red Door Coffee Bar and Unique Island Streetwear. Ana File-Heather is desperately trying to hire a new barista. She owns the Red Door Coffee Bar in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, but, ironically, coffee isn’t the main thing she wants to …
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By Gail Brown. For the next blog in the Pacific Women Leaders series I met a fearless young woman, Ema, who has spent her professional career working in the criminal justice system in my new found home of New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington. Ema is serious about delivering justice and she has committed her life to advocating for …
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By Public Affairs staff, U.S. Embassy Wellington. On 26 September 2017, the Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission Sue Niblock hosted a reception for the LGBTI+ Community in her residence in Wellington, to show the embassy’s solidarity with the New Zealand Rainbow community. In her inaugural reception in the country, the DCM reiterated the State Department’s …
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By Public Affairs staff, U.S. Embassy, Wellington. The U.S. Embassy was proud to once again support Auckland Council’s ‘Matariki Festival’, celebrating and highlighting the traditions and significance of the Māori New Year. Our very own state of Hawaii also celebrates a mid-winter New Year, Makahiki, welcoming a new year of bountiful harvest. While historically Māori …
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By Public Affairs staff, U.S. Consulate Auckland. On Wednesday, May 17, 2017, the Auckland Writer’s Festival launched once again, a multi-day event celebrating the achievements of many award winning authors from New Zealand, the United States – including Man Booker prizewinner Paul Beatty, and young adult author Jennifer Niven – and many other nations. In …
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Each March a celebration of the rich history between Hawaii and Aotearoa descends onto the Hawaii Village at the Pasifika Festival in Auckland. Since launching the Hawaii Village in 2014, we continue to support the Hawaii Village Committee members who work tirelessly on a striking two day display of Hawaii arts, culture and food. This …
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The latest Wahine Toa post by By Nancy Gilbert, wife of U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert. Libby Hakaraia is a trailblazing journalist, author and filmmaker, broadcasting New Zealand’s culture and cinematic stories to the world. A masterful auteur, Libby pioneered New Zealand’s first international indigenous film festival – Māoriland Film Festival. I visited this gifted storyteller in her …
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The latest Wahine Toa post by By Nancy Gilbert, wife of U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert. Our next Wahine Toa feature is Rukumoana Schaafhausen from Ngāti Haua. Her ardent desire to help her community, her church, and her Māori people is central to her story as the longest standing trustee for Waikato Tainui Te Kauhaunganui Inc, …
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By staff in the Public Affairs Section, U.S. Consulate Auckland. Sewam American Indian Dance was founded by award winning dancer and educator, Eddie Madril to bring the music, arts, and culture of Native American dance to audiences around the world. Specializing in the dances of United States Plains Indians, Sewam Dance has performed across the …
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The latest Wahine Toa post by By Nancy Gilbert, wife of U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert. This month I’d like to introduce Kiri Nathan, an elegant mother, fashion designer, Māori female leadership and youth advocate of Ngā Puhi and Tainui descent. She has developed an internationally-recognized brand – Kiri Nathan – a high-end fashion label with a Māori heart and …
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The latest Wahine Toa post by By Nancy Gilbert, wife of U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert. The next Wahine Toa feature is Rachel Taulelei. Rachel’s Māori heritage and advocacy for young entrepreneurs, women in particular, are among her most passionate inspirations. Business savvy, and an innate gift for innovation have led to extraordinary success —first as an entrepreneur …
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The latest Wahine Toa post by By Nancy Gilbert, wife of U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert. The Ngāti Rārua iwi in the upper South Island is known for its strong female leadership, beginning with the women that the iwi was named after Raruaioio and Raruatere. Generations later their legacy holds true as they introduce a current female leader, Olivia …
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By Davy Fogler, U.S. Embassy Wellington. As an American living abroad, I am always looking for ways to integrate into the community, and I have always loved singing – so what better way that to join the leading symphonic choir in Wellington! I became a member of The Orpheus Choir of Wellington in July 2015, …
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On March 11 we had the privilege of holding a reception at Camperdown in honor of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum , with representatives visiting Wellington from New York. With over 80 guests representing countries that lost citizens on September 11, 2001, and representatives from New Zealand’s first responders, we shared the story and role of the memorial and …
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Last week Nancy Gilbert hosted the Et Alia Art Group at Camperdown for a luncheon to share and discuss the Art in Embassies ‘Iconic Images’ exhibition. Nancy gave a history of the Art in Embassies program and the process behind their theme of iconic images of her home and host countries. She shared her favorite pieces with the …
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By Mara Hosoda, U.S. Consulate, Auckland Mana moana (“the power of the ocean”) was especially strong this month, connecting Kanaka Maoli (native people from Hawaii) to their Maori and Pacific cousins in Aotearoa. The U.S. Embassy and Consulate are proud to support and be a part of the many Hawaiian exchanges that occurred in March. …
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Ambassador Gilbert opened the 7th biennial Shapeshifter exhibition in Lower Hutt on February 25th. The outdoor sculpture exhibition is on in the Civic Gardens until March 20th and includes 50 pieces by Kiwi artists. The opening event was attended by around 250 guests including Friends of the Dowse (Hutt City’s art museum), city councillors, local MPs, members …
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By a Frank Sinatra fan, Malcolm Hopwood. When Frank Sinatra sang You Make Me Feel So Young, age disappeared and only the message of love and vitality remained. So it’s hard to imagine that “Old Blue Eyes” Frank Sinatra is 100 today (Saturday, December 12). He remained young and vital throughout his performing and recording …
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Guest blog post by Rachel Harris and Jonathan Gee. As burgeoning business leaders move into the world, bridging the gap between one generation and the next is of vital importance. The State Department was proud to fund and support the Tuākana Youth Mentoring Program run by NGO Leadership New Zealand and the Fulbright New Zealand …
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By Phil McKenna, Public Affairs, U.S. Consulate, Auckland. You can also help spread the word by linking to and sharing these hashtags on social media: #AMcollection #AucklandMuseum. The Auckland War Memorial Museum has a proud history of making its collections available beyond the walls of the Museum itself. It loans artefacts, organizes traveling exhibitions, and, …
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By guest blogger, Emily Novak, Pastry Chef at One80 Restaurant . American, Emily Novak is Pastry Chef at One80 Restaurant , Copthorne Hotel in Wellington. She has the challenge and privilege of preparing the pumpkin pie for this year’s annual Thanksgiving lunch for the clients of the Downtown Community Ministry, one of our most special events of the year. …
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By Raphael Solomon, Public Affairs Intern, U.S. Embassy, Wellington. Beautiful things can bring people together like little else. Sometimes art, music and cultural exchange can be just as important to diplomacy as trade deals and defense treaties. This has been recognized since President John F. Kennedy first formalized the Art in Embassies program in 1963 …
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Our next Project Connect event is on next week, November 18th at the Auckland University of Technology – details at the-project.co.nz . The theme…Building Creative Connections. In a world that has moved from finite choice and limited control to infinite choice and total control, how can leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, brands and organisations engage in a meaningful …
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By Mara Hosoda, Public Affairs U.S. Consulate, Auckland. The United States and New Zealand share a distinguished place on the world stage in producing inspiring female icons, from Rosa Parks and Kate Shepard to Beyonce and Helen Clark. This October we were proud to cohost an inspiration in her own right: Dr Terry Babcock-Lumish, an …
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By Nancy Gilbert, wife of U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert. As part of our now well established Wahine Toa series, I traveled to “King country”, home to the Waikato-Tainui iwi and a dear friend, King Tuheitia Paki. Pioneers of Kingitanga , (a collective spirit to unify Māori tribes under a Māori monarchy) the iwi holds an incredible …
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By Caroline Toplis, Public Affairs, Wellington. September was a very cultural month for Embassy Wellington with a number of interesting visitors coming to town. We’ve had stimulating conversations and a peek into the world of New York publishing with Jonathan Galassi; soaring voices and more than a touch of glamor with Renée Fleming; and a …
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