Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori 2021
Mon 13 Sep 2021
Nau mai, haere mai ki Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori! Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is 13 - 19 Mahuru (September) this year. The theme for 2021 is 'Kia Kaha te Reo Māori' - 'Let’s make the Māori language strong'.
Māori Language Week has been celebrated each year from 1975. This year more than 1 million people joined the Māori Language Moment on 14 September. The 14 September event commemorates the presentation of the 1972 Māori language petition to parliament.
Māori Language Commissioner, Professor Rawinia Higgins, wrote in an open letter to Aotearoa:
"We were anxious not to put pressure on people this Māori Language Week because there are so many things we are being asked to do. It isn’t always easy to live in lockdown, separated from the people and places who make us who we are.
However, we also know that in our hardest times, New Zealanders turn to our first language for comfort and solidarity. For manaakitanga and kotahitanga."
Find ideas and resources to participate on www.reomaori.co.nz.
Te Reo Māori is also being celebrated with Mahuru Māori - a challenge to speak as much te reo Māori as you can for the month of September. Mahuru Māori is a reo challenge that came about as a personal social experiment by Paraone Gloyne in 2014.
Waiata Anthems Week took place the week before, on 6 - 12 September. Waiata Anthems Week is a music industry-wide initiative that celebrates new waiata and honours champions and pioneers of te reo Māori. In 2021, more than a dozen new recordings of songs from celebrated musicians of Aotearoa were released along with seven short documentaries featuring musical artists from Aotearoa about their journey to create and record their songs in te reo Māori.
E Tū Whānau resources and winners of spoken word competition
E Tū Whānau Kaimahi, Moerangi Falaoa, created Activities for Whānau to provide tautoko and awhi (support) during the rāhui (lockdown). Whaea Falaoa designed these resources to help whānau reconnect with their whakapapa and explore other areas that strengthen and build mana.
E Tū Whānau has also announced the winners of the 2021 Spoken Word Competition. Kyllah Iosua (Ngati Kahu) won first place in the Rangatahi Category for her Dreams of Diversity and Kais Valu was first place in the Open Category for his In the Eyes of my Niece. See the E Tū Whānau website for all winners.
Competition host and spoken word poet Te Kahu Rolleston said “Nowhere else have I seen such an amazing collection of spoken word poetry. It’s the voice of Aotearoa, and that’s a powerful thing.” See the E Tū Whānau YouTube Channel for all entries in the spoken word competition.
Videos from Te Ohaakii a Hine - National Network Ending Sexual Violence Together (TOAH-NNEST)
Ngā Kaitiaki Mauri of TOAH-NNEST has made a series of videos about their nine guiding kaupapa used to eliminate mahi tūkino:
- Whanaungatanga
- Kaitiakitanga
- Wairuatanga
- Ūkaipōtanga
- Pūkengatanga
- Manaakitanga
- Hauoratanga
- Mātauranga
- Rangatiratanga
To celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori TOAH-NNEST is inviting people to design a mask and submit the design for a chance to win prizes.
New single portal for COVID 19 information and support for Te Ao Māori
On 1 September 2021 Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson announced that Te Puni Kōkiri website will provide a one-stop source of information on COVID and the vaccine roll-out for Te Ao Māori. This includes a snapshot of what's happening around the motu. Te Puni Kōkiri is also sending regular email updates. Email comms@tpk.govt.nz to sign-up for the email list.
Te Rau Ora and The Centre for Māori Suicide Prevention released the Manaaki Ora app - a self-help wellbeing app to support individuals and whānau to know what to do if they’re concerned with someone’s mental or emotional wellbeing. The free app has information and tips to help identity feelings and where to get support, and tips on how to support others.
News and information from NZFVC library in te reo Māori
Each year more and more resources are created in Te Reo Māori. See our previous news stories for some of the resources we've featured related to family and sexual violence, including resources for online safety in te reo Māori, Māori Medium sexuality education, resources on sexual and reproductive health and resource for whānau and takatāpui rangatahi. Or see all our news stories tagged with Te Ao Māori.
To support the revitalisation of te Reo Māori, the Clearinghouse uses te Reo Māori topic terms in our library. We also have a Te Reo Māori Quick Topic Search page which highlights commonly used terms. Searching by the Te Reo Māori Quick Topic Search terms will help you find material in our library that is by at least one Māori author and/or has a significant amount of content related to Māori.
Related media
Privilege and language trauma, E-Tangata, 26.09.2021 (see related articles from E-Tangata)
Understanding Māori language learners, Newsroom, 15.09.2021
Moana Maniapoto – New Waiata, Āio Ana, Waatea News, 15.09.2021
Popularity of Te Reo Māori challenge surprises organisers, RNZ, 07.09.2021
Talent behind E Tū Whānau spoken word competition no fluke, Stuff, 27.08.2021
Image: Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission)
