Biographies - 2.06.2023

Miriama Kamo

Miriama Kamo (Ngāi Tahu/Ngāti Mutunga) is an award winning broadcaster, writer, speaker, and environmental advocate.

Miriama is the host of TV1’s flagship current affairs programme Sunday, and of Māori current affairs programme Marae.

Miriama is the Patron/Te Koruru of the NZer of the Year Awards. Since her appointment she’s been establishing an alumni network, a partnership model honouring te Tiriti (the Treaty of Waitangi) in the awards, and a pastoral care model for winners.

Miriama is is an ambassador for Pillars, which ensures the voice of children of prison inmates is heard, Charity Foundations and Endometriosis NZ. As a speaker, Miriama is an advocate working to empower women and families to understand and embrace what she calls ‘The 4 M’s’; menstruation, miscarriage, motherhood and menopause.

Miriama co-founded a charity called Kotahi Rau Pukapuka (KRP) Miriama is a trustee for KRP, an organisation which is working to fill the gap for older readers and learners of te reo Māori (the Māori language) by publishing 100 books in te reo Māori. Kotahi Rau Pukapuka was launched by the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon. Jacinda Ardern, in October 2019. Miriama is also a board member of charities Save the Kiwi and The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi.

Miriama is passionate about supporting Māori practitioners in broadcast journalism and runs a mentoring scheme called Whaitiri Mentoring for young journalists of Māori descent.

A mother of two, Miriama published her first book The Stolen Stars of Matariki in 2018, which was set to music composed and performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Miriama’s second book is due out June 1, 2022 - it is called Matariki, a Cluster of Stars, a Cluster of Stories, which she co-wrote with Professor Rangi Matamua. The Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (CSO) has set music to this book. Her third book, Waitī and Waitā, is due out in 2023. Another three books will be published in 2024-2026.

A passionate advocate for the environment, Miriama spends much of her time promoting the Zerowaste movement, encouraging others to reduce waste and engage with environmental issues.

Miriama Kamo is a popular MC and speaker, an in-demand presence in the event circuit of Aotearoa/NZ.