Wrap-up of Te Wiki o te reo Māori 2022

And that’s a wrap on Te Wiki o te reo Māori, The Week of Māori language for 2022! 

Last week was an important time for all of us to celebrate the Māori language as a unique cultural treasure by speaking, hearing, and experiencing more te reo Māori. This year was extra special as it commemorated 50 years since the 1972 language petition to parliament which paved the way for the Maori Language Act 1987, making te reo Māori an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand. 

 Activities for the week included karakia each morning with members of ELT, online ‘Kawhe me te Kōrero’ classes and people running their own te reo Māori quizzes, pepeha practice sessions and visits to parliament for the 50-year commemoration. We also celebrated the taonga that te reo Māori is with our communities via social media by telling the story of Māui and Mahuika the goddess of fire(external link). 

On average 160 people joined from across the motu each morning for the karakia and the Kawhe me te Kōrero classes received 271 sign-ups with an average of 30 attending each class. It was inspiring to see so many of us supporting Te Wiki o te reo Māori and we did this not just to celebrate the reo but also because it’s still endangered and it could still disappear if we don’t continue to nurture and grow the language.

Beyond Te Wiki o te reo Māori 

Iwi and Māori leaders are key stakeholders in our organisation’s operations and it’s important to look beyond the week and continue to improve our knowledge and use of te reo Māori. Check out these places on the Portal; 

• We are piloting Te Aho Tapu, our framework to assess and improve cultural capability to work more effectively with Māori communities. Under the ‘Ngā Kete Mātauranga’ page you will find a range of resources to support you. 
• The Dr Sir John Turei Memorial Grant supports learners of te reo Māori. Applications open in January and anyone in the organisation can apply.   

The Te Wiki o te reo Māori Portal page has been renamed ‘Kia kaha te reo Māori’ and will stay live as a place to access learning resources as well as the opportunity to put your name down for the following kaupapa; 

• Te reo Māori rōpū 

We’re creating an online group to connect our people who want to use and champion more te reo Māori within Fire and Emergency New Zealand. No matter where you are in your journey, the purpose of this rōpū will be for you to support each other and ask and answer questions relating to te reo Māori. 

•  Monday morning Kaikarakia

We will be continuing morning karakia for each Monday of the year and we're looking for people from all levels and corners of our organisation to put their hand up and be our Kaikarakia. 

Kia kaha te reo Māori – let’s make the Māori language strong!