by Brianna Waka

E ngā hau e whā o te ao, nō mai tata, nō mai tawhiti, tae noa mai ki tēnei pito o Nukutawhiti, tēnā koutou, take a photo, tēnā koutou katoa. Mauri ora you magic people sitting with these kupu now.

We’re sliding headfirst into the busiest, most kaupapa packed time of our year. The season where our marae and halls and classrooms start buzzing, where our doors and our arms are flung wide open to welcome people from every corner of the rohe, and every corner of the motu. It’s a season of wānanga, of mahi that stretches long into the night, of kanohi ki te kanohi kōrero, and most of all, of kotahitanga. Those echoes of unity are what have always held us together, even when the world outside feels heavy, uncertain, or just plain annoying.

Kotahitanga has never been about tidy sameness. It’s not about everyone looking, sounding, or moving in sync. It’s about the messy, powerful weaving together of our differences; the bold voices, the quiet ones, the cheeky jokers, the deep thinkers, the stubborn debaters, the ones who always bring drama, all of it matters. All of it makes us, us! And that’s the beauty of this season. Let this serve as a reminder that our voices aren’t just important, they’re powerful. In times of turmoil (and let’s be real, in times of straight up d!ckheads), the best thing we can do is double down on being authentically ourselves. That’s where the mana sits. That’s where our truth lives.

This is the season to remember that our voices don’t just count, they carry. They echo. So as the mahi ramps up and as the motu continues to flow through our spaces and into our lives, my wero to you is this – SHOW UP! Be bold. Be cheeky. Be loving. Be loud, or be still. Be thoughtful, or be chaotic. Just be you. Because when each of us shows up as our full selves, that’s when kotahitanga becomes more than a word. That’s when it becomes a living, breathing force.

These pages in your hands are part of that weaving. A little spark, a thought, a giggle, maybe even a challenge. Take what you need from them. And carry it with you into the next few months of kaupapa and beyond.

My whakapapa is not just who I am, it’s what I am. It connects me to the people I love, those I come from, those I have yet to meet, and those I will one day bring into this world. Your whakapapa is your superpower. It carries your stories, your tūpuna, your lessons, and your light. And when we show up in the world anchored in that truth, everything we do carries the strength of generations behind it.

The biggest hugs, from your VP Māori 2025,
Breanna Waka xo