Aotearoa Indigenous Film represented at UNESCO Creative Cities Network meeting.
Each year Aotearoa New Zealand’s Creative Cities are invited to the Network’s Annual General Meeting to share approaches and learn from each other about placing creativity and culture at the heart of sustainable development.
Repping at UCCN AGM
In 2024 we helped support Madeleine Hakaraia de Young, the new Festival Director for Māoriland Film Festival in Ōtaki, to also attend the meeting which took place in Portugal in July.
Madeleine has developed and run Māori youth development programs over the last five years, serving as a critical platform for nurturing and promoting indigenous talent in the screen sector.
Wellington UNESCO Creative City of Film advocated for her attendance in order to showcase Māori Youth Development Programs to a global audience, emphasising the importance of cultural authenticity and youth empowerment in the screen industry, and to build global connections.
With more than 350 Creative Cities across the globe, many of which have indigenous populations – the AGM provided a crucial platform for sharing best practice and exploring collaborative projects that leverage the creative arts to promote and preserve indigenous languages and cultures.
Madeline’s attendance highlighted Wellington City of Film’s commitment to support and elevate indigenous voices on the international stage.
The AGM also resulted in Wellington City of Film partnering with Galway City of Film, in the form of an exchange programme to support rangatahi working in animation and to promote the Cities’ respective indigenous languages - Te Reo Māori in New Zealand and Irish Gaelic in Ireland
