Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori celebrates significant anniversaries
Find out about the significant anniversaries being celebrated as part of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, Māori Language Week, which starts next week.
Two very important anniversaries are being celebrated this year as part of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, Māori Language Week which runs from Monday 12 to Sunday 18 September.
A live-streamed event from Parliament on Wednesday 14 September will mark the 50th anniversary of the Māori language petition being presented there. Te Petihana was presented in 1972 with over 30,000 signatures. It began the revival of Te Reo Māori and led to the creation of Māori Language Week. The event at Parliament will be livestreamed from 11.30am.
This year’s Māori Language Week also marks the 35th anniversary of Te Reo Māori becoming an official language in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Far North District Council is marking the significant week with daily reo Māori quizzes, waiata, and a guest speaker, as well as staff get togethers to discuss a Te Reo Māori course pilot, and a Te Reo Māori and tikanga policy.
Patrick Smith, Pouhautu Te Hono - Manager Te Hono, outlined a range of activities planned in the future by his team to help staff gain confidence in using Te Reo Māori in the work place. Patrick says, “Over 50 percent of Far North residents are Māori so it makes sense that we enable staff not just to understand basic Te Reo Māori, but also the tikanga or practises Māori use in our approach to the world.”
If you’re interested in joining in with Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori celebrations there are a range of resources and ideas available at Huatau
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