On the 27th of May, 10 Year 12 students headed to the MIT Otara Marae for a day of learning and exploration. The purpose of the event was to learn more about the different religions in Aotearoa and how working together, leaders can help collaborate on different issues in our world.
We started with a powhiri and then an introduction, where many individuals gave speeches in Te Reo Maori. This was followed by a presentation regarding leadership, where our students learnt about the essential values needed to be a powerful leader.
Each school had a couple of students representing a religion. There were three presentations given by Jewish, Hindu, and Buddhist students which discussed what their religion believed in terms of preserving the environment and following the value of stewardship. We learnt that all these religions valued caring for the environment since it is a sacred gift to humans, similar to the belief of Christianity and Sancta Maria College’s value of stewardship. After a group discussion, we learned of many ways that we can implement these religious beliefs into our lives to positively impact our environment.
Three more presentations were given by students belonging to Islam, Christianity, and Sikhism which were on the topic of diversity in our community. Sancta Maria students Harini Pushpakumar and Lavinia Shaba presented our beliefs of Christianity and diversity to the other schools. All religions also agreed on the idea that we are taught to respect everyone, regardless of differences meaning that we should not discriminate. This allows us to continue to build a diverse community, in which we can lead others to live in solidarity.
Special shoutout to Mr. Ardern for taking us to this insightful event and all the students who were young leaders throughout the day.
