Councillors tautoko Te Wiki o te Reo Māori
To celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori next week, messages of support (tautoko) from our elected members will play on Facebook throughout the week. Kahika Tepania kicks off the series of messages today (8 September).
In support of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori next week, Far North District Council elected members are marking the celebration of te reo Māori with a series of short video messages of support (tautoko) for those learning the language.
The annual celebration of te reo Māori as an official language for all New Zealanders runs from Monday 11 to Friday 17 September this year.
Individual messages from a different councillor each day will play on the council’s Facebook page throughout the week starting with Kahika Moko Tepania’s video message today (Friday 8 September).
Māori Language Week started in 1972 after a petition of 30,000 signatures was delivered to Parliament. The petition asked for the active recognition of te reo Māori and was the starting point for the revitalisation of the language. New Zealand has three official languages – NZ Sign Language, English and te reo Māori.
Kia Kaha te Reo Māori – Make the Māori Language Strong, is a continuing theme for the annual celebrations, with Kiwis encouraged to embrace te reo Māori in their homes, schools, workplaces and communities.
One ambition of the government’s Māori language strategy is to reach the target of one million te reo Māori speakers by 2040.
Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori, Māori Language Moment encourages people, groups, businesses and organisations to speak te reo Māori at midday on 14 September and share that moment with a wider audience. The initiative is part of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori celebrations and is aiming for one million contributors to participate in the ‘moment’.
Go to www.reomaori.co.nz to find out more or to participate in the Māori Language Moment.
You can watch Kahika Tepania's message here: