About the Organisation - Te Maeva Nui NZ

ABOUT US

WHO ARE WE?

What are we about?

We are dedicated to the preservation of language heritage and culture

Te Maeva Nui o Aotearoa New Zealand Charitable Trust has been setup as the New Zealand based governance arm of the Te Maeva Nui celebrations.

Our aim is to deliver Cook Islands event services to the world, with the hopes of maintaining the pride of Cook Islanders living away from their homeland.

These celebrations are held in the hopes of maintaing Cook Islands language, heritage and culture. The trust is a collaboration between the Cook Islands community, its leaders, and business entrepeneurs in the Auckland Cook Islands community.

This is an opportunity for Cook Islanders to put their best foot forward,
becoming involved in the planning and implementation of events for their people from a governance, and management perspective.

This is a trust for the people, with the people, and by the people!

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Our Dream

The greatest celebration!

Te Maeva Nui is an important celebration for our Cook Islands people. It is their time to capture the essence of the culture through language, performance and music, and it is a time to recognise our individual cultural identity.

This is an important device for our young people, and for Cook Islanders born outside of the Cook Islands, to discover and explore the culture of their ancestors.

Te Maeva Nui has been a focal point in the calendars of many Cook Islanders in the home country, however, the population of Cook Islanders in New Zealand is such that a festival of the same sort is warranted in order to include New Zealand based Cook Islanders in those celebrations. The New Zealand version of Te Maeva Nui will be based on the Cook Islands version, engaging Vaka’s and Enua’s from around the country.

VISION

To introduce, and teach the values and culture of the Cook Islands to Cook Islanders living in New Zealand, through song, dance, music and language. This is equally important for young Cook Islanders as it is for the old who have not been exposed to our culture and language.

MISSION

To develop and implement the Te Maeva Nui Festival in New Zealand as a staple, and as a crucial part of New Zealand based Cook islanders lives.

CORE VALUES

PEOPLE

We are focussed on giving the community a voice to express their relationship with their culture.

LANGUAGE

The loss of a language is a terrible thing! It leads to the loss of ones identity. Using ancient methods, chants, songs, and performance, we can help to reinvigorate the Cook Islands language in our people, both old and young.

CULTURE

Not being exposed to the Cook Islands culture in New Zealand leads to losses in the understanding of that culture. This is one way of integrating their culture back into the lives of our people.

COMMUNITY

We’re an inclusive organisation with community at its core. Our community is our primary focus, not profits.

Meet the Board

Meet the Board of the Te Maeva Nui o Aotearoa New Zealand Charitable Trust.

OUR EVENTS

2019 is going to be a huge year for the Te Maeva Nui o Aotearoa New Zealand Charitable Trust. The Trust has decided to create a whole raft of events for 2019, the largest being Te Maeva Nui NZ.