We all know what it means to be a New Zealander, right? But when the people tackling the question are of different ethnicities, ages and gender the answer might not be obvious.
Tauranga Arts Festival literary programmer Sandra Simpson says that's what she loves about Our Place to Stand, on Saturday at 11.30am.
"It's a box of delights - six speakers with seven minutes each. There's no knowing if there will be any intersection or commonality, which is the fun of a panel like this. It's a lucky dip for people who like to think."
Taking part are Toi Ohomai tutor and marae chairman Que Bidois, organic farmer and former politician Jeanette Fitzsimons, actor and writer Helene Wong, historian Vincent O'Malley, novelist Paula Morris and Bangladesh-born economist Shamubeel Eaqub.
Eaqub and Fitzsimons return on Sunday at 11.30am, joining business journalist Rod Oram to examine the state of this country with Guyon Espiner. Witi Ihimaera appears on Saturday at 2.30pm with Hemi Kelly to discuss 'Sleeps Standing', which comprises Ihimaera's novella and Kelly's translation into te reo, plus translations into English of Maori eyewitness accounts of the Battle of Orakau, which took place near Te Awamutu in 1864, and photos.