Year 11 Tongan student, Tiare Makanesi, is currently establishing the Otago Secondary Schools' Pasifika Speech Competition.

The topic for this year's competition is "What does it mean to be a Pacific Islander?" This year's event will have two divisions, Junior and Senior. Junior speakers are required to speak for three to four minutes and Senior entries are expected to prepare a five to six minute speech. Contestants may speak in their first language or in English. The competition will be held on Thursday 9 August at Otago Girls' High School in the Visual and Performing Arts Theatre starting at 6pm. We look forward to supporting Tiare Makanesi's initiative and our Pasifika youth from across the community.