The mighty Waikato region is a place of powerful possibilities.
Forged by a proud history and shared excitement about the future, we grow and celebrate world-changers, local innovators and inspiring champions. They embrace our guiding philosophy of mahia te mahi – to get the job done.
In a world hungry for new technology and pure produce, we hold prime position.
Our smart, fast-growing city and vibrant rural towns are connected in a diverse landscape that is fertile and ripe for discovery.
Waikato is our turangawaewae; the place where we stand. Here, family is nurtured. Friends are welcomed with open hearts, and life can be easily enjoyed to the full.
This is our place.
This is your place.
Welcome to Waikato, the beating heart of New Zealand.
Discover the essence of Waikato: a place of powerful possibilities, where mahia te mahi; ‘getting the job done’ is in our DNA. Here family is nurtured, visitors are welcomed as friends and life can be enjoyed to the full. Find out more about our people, our place.
Defining our personality
As a community we uncovered the personality and tone of voice for the Waikato region. See what the Waikato stands for and use assets and images to help tell your business story.
Mighty
We’re proud of our bold history and excited about our future. We’re the beating heart of New Zealand - strong but quiet achievers, always up for the challenge. Bring it on, we say!
Can-Do
The Waikato has a never-stand-still culture that allows businesses, farmers, growers, educational institutions, communities and individuals to make, create and grow. We embrace mahia te mahi as a guiding philosophy; we’re a place that gets the job done, where clever thinking and genuine opportunity meets hard graft. We’re always up for the challenge.
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Compelling
We want people to say: “I didn’t know the Waikato had so much to discover. Lush, fertile landscapes, the rich diversity of the region and a deep-rooted sense of türangawaewae (place to stand). There’s always so much going on. The people are open, enthusiastic and welcoming. It’s a place of surprising opportunities. Let’s explore!”
How we created the Waikato Story
We encouraged and embraced participation from a very wide range of people and organisations – over 200 in total – to ensure our story would be both rich and representative of the diversity of our region. To do this we commissioned an independent branding agency to facilitate the process in order to keep it fair and open.
There were four stages involved:
- the Waikato attributes – who we are today and our aspirations for tomorrow
- Workshop outputs
- Key story elements
- The story framework
We ran four workshops: Te Aroha, Hamilton, Taupō, and Waikato iwi and youth with representation from business/agribusiness, the arts, community funders, environment groups, sports, agencies, education, health, tourism and local government.
News
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Zambian migrant embracing opportunities in the Waikato
Lushomo Thebe remembers arriving at Auckland Airport in 2010. She’d just flown in from Zambia with her mother and younger twin sisters to start a new life in Hamilton. What nine-year-old Lushomo couldn’t imagine then was that she’d be standing in Queen St in Auckland in 2021 with a suitcase taking a selfie to send to her mum. But this time the suitcase wouldn’t contain her clothes and sentimental trinkets. Instead, it would contain paperwork and equipment Lushomo would need for her internship at one of New Zealand’s leading law firms, Chapman Tripp.
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Reawakening mana in men in early childhood education
A lack of men in early childhood education has inspired Wintec Master of Applied Innovation student, Grayson Newton-Smith to create a book about restoring mana in men.
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Ecology researcher awarded Hamilton Kirikiriroa Medal
The Hamilton Kirikiriroa Medal, one of the city’s highest accolades, was awarded to University of Waikato ecologist Professor Bruce Clarkson yesterday at Claudelands Events Centre.
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Wintec to host change-making creatives at Ramp Festival
Wintec School of Media Arts’ highly anticipated Ramp Festival 2021 is once again bringing creative-based thinkers from across Aotearoa to Kirikiriroa, Hamilton from 4 - 6 August.