Expo 2020 Dubai: New Zealand pavilion to host festival of indigenous and tribal ideas

The festival will take place during Tolerance and Inclusivity Week in November

Te Aratini, led by the New Zealand pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, will celebrate indigenous and tribal ideas. Expo 2020 Dubai

Expo 2020 Dubai is set to play host to Te Aratini, World Expo’s first festival of indigenous and tribal ideas.

Taking place during Expo 2020 Dubai’s Tolerance and Inclusivity Week in November, Te Aratini will be led by Aotearoa New Zealand, and will aim to showcase the untapped potential indigenous and tribal peoples offer in solving global issues.

The shared diversity found in New Zealand and Dubai, which are both home to more than 200 nationalities, led to the concept of Te Aratini, which hopes to foster the development of a deeper understanding of economic inclusion and the converging roles of culture, community, commerce and conservation in the protection, maintenance and resurgence of the world’s indigenous and tribal economies.

“For many indigenous and tribal peoples, including Maori, our beliefs are grounded in whakapapa – or genealogical connections – that establish relationships between people, the environment and the spiritual world,” said Nanaia Mahuta, New Zealand's Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"In the wake of the global pandemic, these beliefs and values can help shape the world’s much-needed commitment toward empathy, sustainability and intergenerational solutions for well-being."

With the heralding of Matariki, the Maori New Year, Aotearoa New Zealand is calling for international participants to be part of the Te Aratini festival, which will take place between Wednesday and Friday, November 17 and 19.

Te Aratini is being developed in partnership with the Iwi Chairs Forum through the guidance and vision of Ngahiwi Tomoana, tribal leader of one of New Zealand’s most prominent iwi, Ngati Kahungunu.

“When indigenous and tribal peoples talk trade, it’s not just about products and Free Trade Agreements,” he explained. “We’re talking more deeply about relationships, reciprocity and responsibility to our communities. We live by the view that culture counts in commerce, community and conservation. So, in forging trading relationships it is critical that healthcare, environment, language and culture are all part of that broader trade and economic policy conversation.

“Te Aratini is intended to ignite our ancient relationships where time and circumstance has impeded our ability to keep some of those connections warm, and to nurture and strengthen those relationships that have manifested and reconnected over the past few decades,” he said.

About 370 million identify as indigenous peoples worldwide, according to the UN, representing as many as 5,000 different cultures.

More information is available at www.tearatini.com