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How Kiwi kids are using the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™ to learn about different cultures

The Kōtuitui programme is linked to the Te Ao Tangata Social Sciences curriculum, and will use football and the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™ as a context for learning about our bicultural and multicultural society.

Where Kōtuitui is particularly special is that it harnesses how communities express their culture and identities through football and futsal.

Shane Verma
New Zealand Football Community Pathways Manager

As Aotearoa New Zealand prepares to connect with the world as co-host of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™, New Zealand Football and Sport New Zealand have unveiled a new schools programme designed to help Kiwi kids learn about different cultures and encourage a collective identity. 


New Zealand Football and Māori Football Aotearoa have designed a set of football and futsal games that will reinforce the learning that is happening in classrooms during Kōtuitui. 


Aotearoa New Zealand is home to a diverse population and programmes like Kōtuitui teach younger generations of New Zealanders how to create relationships with cultures other than their own. Research shows that one in five tamariki (children) experiences racism in New Zealand, highlighting why this is an important skill to learn. 


The new programme will see 14,000 students from around the country taking part in a series of activities that help children understand their whakapapa (genealogy) and their tūrangawaewae (rights of residence and belonging) - and that of others. 


For example, students will learn to understand their whakapapa based on the hexagonal shape of a football, which allows students to share their history with each other. Through sharing these stories, tamariki will develop an understanding of other cultures, and may realise they share common ground with their peers, despite being from different ethnicities. 


On the field, coaches will merge Māori storytelling with football drills, including turning the legend of Māui slowing down the sun into a fun game to create an understanding of both culture, and football.


Shane Verma, New Zealand Football Community Pathways Manager and Kōtuitui project lead says, “Where Kōtuitui is particularly special is that it harnesses how communities express their culture and identities through football and futsal. The programme provides tamariki (children) and rangatahi (young adults) with new ways to get physically active while learning about and connecting with their communities.”


“It’s also a great way to strengthen communities and connections between schools and their local football clubs, and ensure everyone has the opportunity to experience football or futsal.”


Learn more about how Kōtuitui works from Māori Football Aotearoa’s Ariana Grey here.

 

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