WIPCE 2025
The World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WIPCE) 2025 lit up Tāmaki Makaurau this week, bringing together delegations from Indigenous nations across the globe. Over several days, communities shared knowledge, celebrated language revitalisation, and explored pathways for food sovereignty, land rights, and cultural resurgence in all its forms.
The week kicked off on Sunday with a moving pōwhiri, welcoming our visiting relations from around the world to Aotearoa. Standing in a room filled with hundreds of Indigenous peoples, each carrying their own stories, songs, and histories, was nothing short of powerful.
Native American nations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Māori, Ainu, First Nations communities from Canada, and many others gathered under one roof. Seeing so many of our peoples in one space felt almost unreal, like watching the world’s Indigenous heartbeat thrum in unison.
The opening ceremony featured an exchange of languages between the WIPCE Council and mana whenua, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, formally launching the conference. Later that same day came the iconic Parade of Nations, where Indigenous groups took to Queen Street in full cultural expression. Singing, dancing, drumming, chanting, smiling their way through the city, they transformed the streets into a living tapestry of ancestral pride.
From the i-Kiribati community to Tahiti and beyond, the beauty was constant. Flags from every corner of the world rippled in the wind. Multiple languages layered over one another in song. Traditional instruments carried the sound of homelands across the city. And the clothing, regalia, and adornments turned Queen Street into a breathtaking ocean of colour and identity.
The celebrations converged at Aotea Square for Te Ao PūtaHi Festival, a week-long companion event to WIPCE. With market stalls, food carts, performances, workshops, and Indigenous creatives at its heart, the festival tied the entire experience together with warmth, flavour, and community spirit.
Wishing everyone attending WIPCE 2025 an incredible, meaningful, and transformative week.