By Gail Brown. For the next blog post in the
Pacific Women Leaders series, I met with Niki Rattle – Speaker of the Cook Islands Parliament. “It’s the sweetest coconut juice in the world,” says the Speaker of Cook Islands Parliament, Niki Rattle as I sit down to interview her on a hot November day in Rarotonga. The ...
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By Public Affairs Section | 9 February, 2018 | Categories:
Connecting with Kiwis, First People's Connect, News, Pacific Women
| Tags: American Red Cross, Cook Islands, Cook Islands Parliament, Gail Brown, Niki Rattle, Pacific Women Leaders, Prime Minister Henry Puna, Rarotonga
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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By Ola Thorsen | 19 April, 2017 | Categories:
Art & Culture, Auckland, Chargé D’Affaires, Connecting with Kiwis, Deputy Chief of Mission, Events, First People's Connect, News, Public Affairs, U.S. & New Zealand, Youth Outreach
| Tags: Hawaii, Maori, Northland, Pasifika Festival, Samoa
The latest
Wahine Toa post by By Nancy Gilbert, wife of U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert. For the next Wahine Toa blog I traveled to the world’s southernmost marae which is at the bottom of the South Island in Bluff. I met Aimee Kaio, a dedicated social entrepreneur from Ngāi Tahu, Tuhourangi, Ngāti Whakaue and Ngā Puhi, whose ...
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By Ola Thorsen | 20 January, 2017 | Categories:
Connecting with Kiwis, Culture, First People's Connect, News, Success Stories, Wahine Toa
| Tags: Ambassador Gilbert, Maori Women Leaders, Ngā Puhi, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Whakaue, Tuhourangi
The latest
Wahine Toa post by By Nancy Gilbert, wife of U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert. Jacinta Ruru is New Zealand’s first Māori Professor of Law, co-director of Ngā Pae o te Maramatanga (New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence), and a two-time Fulbright award grantee. Jacinta’s utmost mission has been straightforward: to bring a strong Indigenous voice ...
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By Ola Thorsen | 20 January, 2017 | Categories:
Connecting with Kiwis, Culture, First People's Connect, News, Success Stories, Wahine Toa
| Tags: Ambassador Gilbert, Maori Women Leaders, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Ranginui, Raukawa, Wahine Toa Project
The latest
Wahine Toa post by By Nancy Gilbert, wife of U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert. Wahine Toa Nicol ‘Kelly’ Takurua of Ngāti Porou descent, is a champion social worker in rural Southland. And , as she tells it, her interest in organizing and helping others with their lives is something she’s done all her life. Kelly’s family ...
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By Ola Thorsen | 20 January, 2017 | Categories:
Connecting with Kiwis, Culture, First People's Connect, News, Success Stories, Wahine Toa
| Tags: Ambassador Gilbert, Maori Women Leaders, Ngāti Porou, Wahine Toa
The latest
Wahine Toa post by By Nancy Gilbert, wife of U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert. Brittany Teei is a former professional tennis player, social entrepreneur, founder of KidsCoin tech-company, and she’s only 27 years young. Blessed with a prodigious mind and heart, this tenacious Ngāi Tahu woman recently shared her incredible story at the Remuera Tennis Club ...
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By Ola Thorsen | 19 January, 2017 | Categories:
Connecting with Kiwis, Culture, First People's Connect, News, Success Stories, U.S. & New Zealand, Wahine Toa
| Tags: Ambassador Gilbert, KidsCoin, Maori Women Leaders, Ngāi Tahu, Tennis
The latest
Wahine Toa post by By Nancy Gilbert, wife of U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert. The next Wahine Toa feature is Deidre Otene of Te Rarawa and Ngāpuhi. Over the last decade she has been at the forefront supporting Māori youth and women in grassroots communities. At the heart of her work is her own community in ...
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By Ola Thorsen | 18 January, 2017 | Categories:
Connecting with Kiwis, Culture, First People's Connect, News, Success Stories, Wahine Toa
| Tags: Ambassador Gilbert, Maori, Maori Women Leaders, Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Wahine Toa
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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By Ola Thorsen | 17 January, 2017 | Categories:
Art & Culture, Connecting with Kiwis, First People's Connect, News, Success Stories, Wahine Toa
| Tags: Ambassador Gilbert, Maori, Maori Women Leaders, Maoriland film festival, Nancy Gilbert, Ngāti Raukawa ki te tonga, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Te Atiawa, Wahine Toa Project
The latest Wahine Toa post by By Nancy Gilbert, wife of U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert. Ranei Wineera-Parai is a change agent whose formidable community development work touches and improves lives in her home town of Porirua and its environs. Ranei has mana tangata whenua (indigenous rights) through her Ngāti Toa iwi. I had the privilege ...
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By Public Affairs Section | 9 January, 2017 | Categories:
Connecting with Kiwis, First People's Connect, Wahine Toa
| Tags: Ambassador Gilbert, Indigenous Women’s Conference, mana tangata whenua, Nancy Gilbert, Ngāti Toa iwi, Porirua, Ranei Wineera – Parai, Wahine Toa
The latest
Wahine Toa post by By Nancy Gilbert, wife of U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert. In October, the United States Embassy in New Zealand brought together 140 Maori women from across the country for the Wahine Toa (“Women of Strength”) Leadership Conference, the culmination of two years of interviews and engagement with emerging female leaders from the ...
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By Ola Thorsen | 23 December, 2016 | Categories:
Auckland, Connecting with Kiwis, Culture, Education, First People's Connect, Former U.S. Government Leaders, News, Success Stories, Wahine Toa
| Tags: Ambassador Gilbert, Barack Obama, Nancy Gilbert, Wahine Toa
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 Ola Thorsen | 21 December, 2016 | Categories:
Art & Culture, Connecting with Kiwis, Culture, First People's Connect, News, Success Stories, U.S. & New Zealand, Wahine Toa
| Tags: Ambassador Gilbert, Kiingitanga, Nancy Gilbert, Wahine Toa, Waikato Tainui
The latest
Wahine Toa post by By Nancy Gilbert, wife of U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert. Kerensa Johnston is an accomplished lawyer who passionately advocates for Indigenous and human rights. Her stellar career spans from the halls of academia to the court room and led to her recent appointment as first female CEO of Wakatū Incorporated. Wakatū is ...
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By Public Affairs Section | 6 December, 2016 | Categories:
Agriculture, Connecting with Kiwis, First People's Connect, Wahine Toa
| Tags: Ambassador Gilbert, Kerensa Johnston, Māori heritage, Māori Women’s refuge, Nancy Gilbert, Nelson, Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama, Taranaki, Te Atiawa, Te Tau Ihu iwi, Wahine Toa, Wakatū, Wellington Community Law Centre
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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By Ola Thorsen | 23 August, 2016 | Categories:
Agriculture, Art & Culture, Business, Connecting with Kiwis, Culture, First People's Connect, News, Success Stories, Trade, U.S. & New Zealand, Wahine Toa
| Tags: Environment, Nancy Gilbert, New Zealand, Rachel Taulelei, Wahine Toa, Wahine Toa Project
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 Mike Cousins | 15 July, 2016 | Categories:
Art & Culture, Connecting with Kiwis, First People's Connect, Wahine Toa
| Tags: Burnham Military Camp, Central Otago, Iwi, Maori, Māori culture, Meke Māori Excellence Awards, Nancy Gilbert, Ngāti Rārua, Olivia Hall, Raruaioio, Raruatere, Renaissance Māori Art, Wahine Toa
Remarks of Ambassador Mark Gilbert on the Occasion of the 240th Anniversary of American Independence Day, July 7, 2016 E ngā mana E ngā reo E ngā manuhiri taiea Kia ora koutou katoa Tēnā koutou mai tōku whenua America Tēnā koutou mai tōku Rangatira Matua Barack Obama Ko ngā Rocky Mountains ōku Maunga Ko te ...
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By Public Affairs Section | 11 July, 2016 | Categories:
Connecting with Kiwis, East Asia & Pacific, First People's Connect, Former Ambassadors, Former U.S. Government Leaders, National Parks, Our Ocean
| Tags: 240th Anniversary of American Independence Day, Barack Obama, Independence Day, National Parks Service, NPS100, Remarks, U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert
By Victoria Triegaardt, Public Affairs Intern, U.S. Embassy, Wellington. U.S. Embassy Staff & Friends Visit Kapiti Island to Take Part in the Unveiling Of New Information Panels. Two weeks back was National Park Week in the U.S. and in celebration the U.S. Embassy joined the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) to unveil new signs on Kapiti ...
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By Public Affairs Section | 2 May, 2016 | Categories:
Environment, First People's Connect, National Parks, News
| Tags: Department of Conservation, DOC, Kapiti Island, National Park Week, National Parks Service, Ngāti Toa, NPS100, Te Atiawa ki Whakarongotai, U.S. Embassy Youth Council, Victoria Triegaardt
By Mara Hosoda, Public Affairs Section, U.S. Consulate General, Auckland. On April 13 and 14, 2016 the U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert and his wife, Mrs. Nancy Gilbert, made their first official visit to Dunedin, New Zealand. The Gilberts met with a cross section of Dunedin’s government, business, university, and civil society sectors. It was a ...
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By Mike Cousins | 21 April, 2016 | Categories:
Connecting with Kiwis, Doing Business in the U.S., First People's Connect, Former Ambassadors, News, Science & Tech, U.S. & New Zealand
| Tags: Animation Research, Craig Halbmaier, Dunedin, Dunedin City Council, Fulbright, Harlene Hayne, Nancy Gilbert, NASA, Otago Business School, Otago Museum, Pacific Islands Centre, TPP, U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert, University of Otago, Vice-Chancellor, Visiting Executives Program, Youth Council
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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By Public Affairs Section | 24 March, 2016 | Categories:
Alumni, Art & Culture, Auckland, Business, Child and Family Matters, Connecting with Kiwis, Consulate General, Events, First People's Connect, Former Ambassadors, Travel & Tourism, U.S. & New Zealand, U.S. Consulate Auckland, U.S. Embassy Wellington
| Tags: Ali’i Kalani’opu’u, Arts Envoy, ATEED, Duke Kahanamoku, Hawaii, Kanaka Maoli, Kenneth Makuakane, mahiole, Mana moana, Pasifika Festival, Paula Fuga, Star Gossage, Ultimate Waterman Challenge, Waianae, Zane Kekoa Schweitzer
Press Statement John Kerry Secretary of State Washington, DC February 4, 2016 On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of New Zealand on the 176th anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi, or Te Tiriti o Waitangi, this February 6. The United States and New Zealand are ...
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By Mike Cousins | 6 February, 2016 | Categories:
Connecting with Kiwis, First People's Connect, Former U.S. Government Leaders, U.S. & New Zealand
| Tags: Barack Obama, John Kerry, New Zealand, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Treaty of Waitangi, Waitangi
The latest
Wahine Toa post by By Nancy Gilbert, wife of U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert. This month I’d like to introduce Gina Rangi of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Raukawa iwi. Everything about Gina – her intellectual pursuit, ambition to create positive outcomes for Māori, and social life – is based on the premise that leadership is ...
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By Mike Cousins | 11 December, 2015 | Categories:
Connecting with Kiwis, First People's Connect, Wahine Toa
| Tags: Department of Conservation, Gina Rangi, Māori kawa, Nancy Gilbert, Ngāti Raukawa iwi, Ngāti Raukawa marae, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Tongariro National Park, Wahine Toa, Waitangi Treaty settlement
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 Ola Thorsen | 30 October, 2015 | Categories:
Art & Culture, Connecting with Kiwis, Education, First People's Connect, News, Success Stories, Wahine Toa
| Tags: Dr. Sarah-Jane Tiakiwai, Kingitanga, Ngaruawahia, Waikato-Tainui College
By Nancy Gilbert, wife of U.S. Ambassador Mark Gilbert. I continued my Wahine Toa journey south to the city of Christchurch, which is the base of New Zealand’s wealthiest tribe, Ngāi Tahu. At their impressive new headquarters I met Charisma Rangipunga, who, like so many Māori women I have come across, is talented on many ...
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By Mike Cousins | 30 September, 2015 | Categories:
Connecting with Kiwis, First People's Connect, News, Wahine Toa
| Tags: Charisma Rangipunga, Iwi, Māori Language Commission, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu, Taranaki, Te Taura Whiri, Wahine Toa
By Public Affairs staff, U.S. Consulate Auckland. Fifty ‘Future Leaders’ from 19 Pacific Islands (#FPL15), including 30 New Zealand based participants, gathered in Auckland in early September for a four-day conference on social entrepreneurship and leadership. An important goal was to connect participants with Pacific diaspora communities in Auckland, the city with the largest Pacific ...
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By Mike Cousins | 18 September, 2015 | Categories:
Connecting with Kiwis, East Asia & Pacific, Events, First People's Connect, Former Ambassadors
| Tags: #FPL15, Emeline Afeaki, Festival for the Future, Future Leaders of the Pacific, Global Entrepreneurship Summit, leadershi, Mark Gilbert, Orakei Marae, Otahuhu, Sasha Fisher, social entrepreneurship, South Auckland Poet’s Collective, Spark Micro-grants, The Akina Foundation, The Grid Auckland
By U.S. Ambassador, Mark Gilbert. A little while back I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the official opening of the
Matariki Festival at the Dawn Karakia, alongside Auckland Mayor Len Brown and prominent Maori leaders. I had heard about the Matariki Festival prior to my arrival in New Zealand, and Nancy and I were excitedly ...
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By Mike Cousins | 15 July, 2015 | Categories:
Events, First People's Connect, Former Ambassadors, News, Public Affairs
| Tags: Auckland Mayor Len Brown, Auckland’s Pasifika hub, Charlotte Graham, Dawn Karakia, Mangere, Mangere Arts Centre, Matariki Festival, Nancy Gilbert, One Tree Hill, Rewi Spraggon, Routeburn Track, Stardome Observatory
