The Equal Justice Project Presents: The Opening Function 2017 & Annual Hui
THE OPENING FUNCTION
To kick off the year, we participated in a Pōwhiri with the wonderful team from the Waipapa Marae, as well as the members of Te Rākau Ture, Ngā Tauira Māori and Te Aro Ture. This was a precursor to our 2017 Hui the following day.
Once officially welcomed, we moved into the hall to eat, drink, and listen to our keynote speaker: Sir Anand Satyanand. We then presented our Equal Justice Award to the stars of the evening: Darryn Aitchison and Neil Shaw, of the Auckland Community Law Centre. They were presented with the award in recognition of their ongoing commitment to equal access to justice for all Aucklanders.
After some more mingling, the pizzas arrived. Hungry volunteers sat down and chatted with one another while they ate, and the evening drew to a close.
SPECIAL THANKS:Rangimarie Rawiri (Waipapa Marae),Stephanie 
Nicholson, Jodi Libbey, and Joanna Pidgeon (Auckland District Law Society), Alex Greaves, Kimberleigh Murray, Natanahira Herewini, and Jess Tuhega (Te Rākau Ture), Dextaa Rapana, Dion Westrupp, Maihi Bennett (Ngā Tauira Māori), Te Aro Ture (AUT's Māori Law Student Association), Doris Zhang and Mervyn Aitchison (Photography).We couldn’t have done it without you!
THE ANNUAL HUI
Having been welcomed onto the Waipapa Marae the previous night, our volunteers arrived bright and early on Saturday morning, ready for a day of activities.
Breaking the IceThe events kicked off with a series of icebreakers, held by Vaash. She tested us on our legal knowledge (did you know Mt Eden is not New Zealand’s biggest prison?) and managed to get us wandering around with our eyes closed, making strange animal noises.
Giving Back: The Origin of EJP and it’s Values
Barrister Deborah Manning was up next, delivering an inspiring talk about working to ensure there is justice and equality in our communities. She spoke of her own experiences in the law, the role she played in the beginnings of EJP, and encouraged students to remember the responsibility we have as future lawyers to engage in pro bono work where possible.
Team Trainings
We then split off into our various EJP teams: Access, Communications, Community, and Pro Bono. The team managers gave their volunteers a run-down of the work they would be doing that year.
A Career in Human Rights
Dr Claire Charters then spoke to the group about the trajectory of her legal career. She gave advice on getting into human rights work (“throw your hat into the ring!”) but stressed the importance of taking time out and looking after yourself (something law students probably need to hear more often!)
Morning Tea & Lunch
Talking to Young People About the Law
Sarah Boyd and Annie Tavalea from YouthLaw tested our knowledge of certain laws, asking questions about what age it’s legal for Kiwis to purchase BB guns, and what age a Kiwi needs to be to get an abortion without their parent’s consent. It was a real eye-opener for many of us about the issues young people face in the justice system
