Kia ūkaipō anō te reo

AT 12PM ON 14 MAHURU SEPTEMBER OVER A MILLION NEW ZEALANDERS ALL AROUND THE WORLD CELEBRATED MĀORI LANGUAGE MOMENT.

This moment was the largest, single celebration of te reo Māori in history, and a step towards meeting the goal of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori Māori Language Commission to have 1 million Māori language speakers by 2040. Royal Society Te Apārangi joined in as an organisation. Staff members gathered at 12pm to waiata while others participated through kōrero, ako or pānui. Professor Rawinia Higgins FRSNZ (Tūhoe), Te Tumu Ahurei Māori Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Māori at Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka and the Māori Language Commissioner, sat down to have a kōrero with ngā tumu directors Kahu Hotere and Tarah Nikora, discussing the opportunities for Royal Society Te Apārangi to help contribute to and support language revitalisation both within the organisation and the wider community.

“As an organisation, it is important for people to use te reo in the office and whare because language is ‘caught and not taught’, so it’s important to focus on using kupu that relate to everyday life so that others around you can catch and use these kupu too.”

RAWINIA HIGGINS

READ MORE ON KIA KAHA TE REO MĀORI bit.ly/2020HL-41