Movers and Makers: Amplify Tonga and Samoa

This year, Amplify Creative Arts Camp was held around the territory. War Cry checks in with Tonga and Samoa Regions about the goings on at this year’s Amplify.

Amplify Creative Arts Camp is usually only held in New Zealand, but last January, it was also hosted in Tonga and Samoa. From spray painting to stage set-up and even a ukulele band, Tongan and Samoan young people were able to showcase their unique cultural creativity.

Tonga

This was the first Amplify that Tonga has ever held, and Regional Youth Worker Mele Vaea explained there was a bit of pressure to make this Amplify as big and exciting as New Zealand’s one. Despite some challenges, it ended up being an exciting new experience for everyone involved.

It was a week-long camp held at Tupou College in Toloa, with a programme made up of four main areas: vocal; dance; music; and videography, photography editing, stage set-up. Young people could choose majors and minors in which to participate, but were encouraged to give anything a go.

The team ensured there was something for everyone at the camp. Mele explained that although Tonga is a country that is passionate about music, they wanted to include creative expressions for the young people that weren’t just music related. There were even workshops in spray painting, as that is a form of artistic expression in Tonga.

‘We do this to illustrate that not just music has life in it or tells a story, but you can actually have something visual, like visual art, saying that,’ said Mele.

Many of their young people weren’t able to come as they had holidays booked and were out of the country; because of this, they lowered the age limit from 16 to allow teens as young as 13 to attend. Mele was pleased to see that by the end of the camp, the younger teens learned many new skills and grew in confidence.

The Friday night concert was both enjoyable for the audience and a great way for the young people to showcase what they had learned over the week. There were 16 items and one of the highlights was a drama performance, which Mele explained is not something showcased much in Tonga.

‘The drama act was very creative and it caught the attention of the audience, like it was something different but right to do. Also, the audience was joining in, and they were just loving it too,’ Mele said.

Even though it was only a week-long camp, it started a creative spark for the young people of Tonga. Mele said they are hoping to offer regional workshops in the future to keep the young people focused on their creative pursuits—not just for a week, but throughout the entire year.

Samoa

Samoa Amplify was held at Apia Corps’ new property over the weekend break from Friday to Sunday, with a small but close-knit group of young people and leaders.