Grants Available To Support Community Waitangi Day Celebrations

The 2023 Commemorating Waitangi Day Fund (the Fund) is open now to support local events which celebrate the past and future of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Administered by Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage, the Fund enables community groups, local councils and tangata whenua to work together to organise events that deepen and broaden our shared understanding of Te Tiriti.

"Whether it is for a dawn service, a hīkoi, or a community picnic, we want to empower communities to come together to celebrate this important part of our national identity, and to recommit to its place in the future of Aotearoa," says Glenis Philip-Barbara (Ngāti Uepōhatu, Ngāti Porou), Pou Mataaho o Te Hua, Deputy Chief Executive, Delivery at Manatū Taonga.

"Waitangi Day is wider than the celebrations in Waitangi. Te Tiriti itself travelled throughout the motu, and we want to help communities around Aotearoa celebrate the impact of this document in creating the nation we are today."

For 2023 celebrations, there is a total of $300,000 available in contestable funding for events that commemorate the signing of Te Tiriti and promote nation and community building.

"We welcome applicants planning both well-established events and new initiatives that give New Zealanders new opportunities to participate in their local community."

In past years, the Fund has supported events from the Chatham Islands to Southland to celebrate Te Tiriti in many forms, including kai festivals, marae open days, scavenger hunts, re-enactments, and even digital events.

"It is our hope that this Fund can provide certainty to community groups wanting to organise Waitangi Day celebrations."

The Fund is now open and will close on Wednesday 26 October 2022.

For more information and to apply, please visit the Manatū Taonga Ministry of Culture and Heritage website.

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