Māori Language Day is September 14 and commemorates the presentation of the 1972 Māori language petition to parliament.
Mahuru Māori is an initiative begun in 2017 to promote the use of te reo Māori throughout the month of September.
What is your library doing to celebrate? Share your story with us before the end of September and be featured in Library Life magazine so we can spread the joy!
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Kia Kaha Te Reo Māori
‘Kia Kaha’ is well understood in New Zealand English with its meaning of ‘be strong’. We often talk about languages as if they are people – talking about language health, strength and revitalisation. So when we say ‘Kia Kaha te Reo Māori’ we’re saying - ‘Let’s make the Māori language strong'.
Strength for an endangered language comes from its status, people being aware of how to support revitalisation, people acquiring and using it and from the language having the right words and terms to be used well for any purpose.
On the Māori Language Week website you can find resources, ideas and reports about revitalisation and its increasing success.
It’s a part of the national promotion of te reo Māori undertaken by Crown agencies and coordinated by the Māori Language Commission as part of the Crown’s Māori language strategy, the Maihi Karauna. This strategy supports the revitalisation strategy of Māori and iwi, led by Te Mātāwai.
Te reo Māori is a taonga of Māori, guaranteed under the Treaty of Waitangi. But the Māori Language Act 2016 also makes clear it is for every New Zealander and a valued part of our national identity.
Goals of Māori Language Week
- Create a positive environment for the use of Māori language.
- Promote Māori language initiatives and events.
- Encourage non-Māori speaking New Zealanders to use reo Māori.
- Encourage speakers of Māori to support others who are just starting out.
- Encourage community, business, government and media organisations to participate.
- Promote resources to make Māori language more accessible.
- Contribute to awareness of the Crown Māori Language Strategy and the Māori and iwi strategy that work together for revitalisation.