Mana Pounamu Awards Recipients

The 2024 Mana Pounamu recipients were celebrated at an event on July 4th. 

The Mana Pounamu Young Achievers Awards recognise Māori secondary school achievers across Otago. This year 55 awards were granted across teina (junior) and tuakana (senior) categories. Senior achievers are awarded scholarships towards tertiary education. 

Ka rawe o koutou mahi rakatahi mā.

The stated aim of the Mana Pounamu Awards is to:

"acknowledge the many wonderful accomplishments of rakatahi Māori, and aim to inspire them to consider tertiary education as a natural progression. The Awards provide an opportunity to showcase our future leaders, providing inspirational role models to other Māori youth across the province."

Mana Pounamu is a Kāi Tahu initiative supported by Kā Papatipu Rūnaka ki Arāiteuru, Otago Polytechnic, the University of Otago, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, the Ministry of Education and the Otago Daily Times.

For the full list of Māori Young Achievers, check out this ODT article. 

Above photo is from the Mana Pounamu 2023 ceremony.