Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Maori Language Week 2016 is going to be positive, relevant, energetic, fun and exciting! It will show New Zealand that there is a place for the Maori language in our stadiums, on our sports fields, in the news and the ever growing realm of social media. It will also show the country that te reo Maori is a language for all New Zealanders.

The campaign will run from July 4 – 10.

The theme for this year is ākina te reo – behind you all the way which is about using te reo Māori to support people, to inspire and to cheer on.

Continuing with last year’s approach, we will develop 50 phrases in te reo Māori that are simple to use, even for those with little or no grasp of the language.

To ensure the phrases carry momentum, over and beyond the campaign week, we will hang them off sports events, starting with the Olympics and other popular sports codes and events that occur throughout the year, and that move our communities and the nation to rally behind our athletes.

Māori Language Week is an annual campaign, led by the Māori Language Commission, to promote the language to New Zealand. The campaign is about raising awareness that New Zealand has its very own language and encouraging the use of it, with simple phrases every day, week and month of the year.

A sports theme was chosen for this year's Maori Language week because it was a way of reaching a large group of the population, with 74 per cent of New Zealanders involved in sport as players, volunteers or spectators. 

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