News & Events

Māori Language Week

Maori language week

It’s Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week). This government-sponsored week aims to encourage New Zealanders to use Māori, an official language of Aotearoa since August 1, 1987.

Te Reo will be celebrated and promoted across New Zealand from September 12 to 18. Celebrated since 1975, Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is spearheaded by Te Puni Kōkiri (the Ministry of Māori Development) and the Māori Language Commission, with many organizations including schools, libraries, and government departments participating.

History

In the early 1970s as a part of the Māori protest movement, activist group Ngā Tamatoa, the Te Reo Māori Society of Victoria University, and Te Huinga Rangatahi (the New Zealand Māori Students’ Association) presented a petition to Parliament, petitioned the government to teach Te Reo in schools. On 14 September 1972, this petition, signed by over 30,000 people was delivered to Parliament and became a major event in the revitalisation of Te Reo in New Zealand. This date quickly began to be celebrated as Māori Language Day, and by 1975, this had grown to become the first Māori Language Week. Source: Wikipedia.

You might also like

You might also like