Spark NZ backs te reo Māori

Thursday, 14 September 2017, 9:46 am
Press Release: Spark NZ

Spark NZ backs te reo Māori

In recognition of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, Spark has also launched its first te reo Māori narrated advertising. By partnering with Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission) the company has relaunched its ‘Little can be huge’ brand platform with a translation into te reo Māori this week.

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori facilitated this work to ensure the translation was respectful to the language and the purpose of the brand manifesto. It was voiced by five-year-old Piiata Nairn from Wellington who is fluent in both te reo Māori and English.

Spark has also rebranded its twitter account to ‘Kora Aotearoa’, a direct translation of ‘Spark New Zealand’ and inner-city billboards have been changed to te reo Māori, in Auckland, Wellington and Hamilton.

Chief Executive of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, Ngahiwi Apanui says the Commission is thrilled to have teamed up with Spark

“Including te reo Māori in the advertisement is indicative of the great support that Spark has for te reo Māori. The sentiments and impacts are so important for the health of the language. Of equal importance is the authentic approach that Spark took in working with us on this project. You can achieve maximum results in the use of the Māori language by ensuring, that the language and culture accompany each other. They cannot be separated: one gives life to the other.”

“As the advertisement says “He kupu iti, ka ora te reo”” A little word can save a language” And, with a little help, a little country can take on the world. “Āe mārika…he nui anō te iti.“

Spark’s Head of Diversity and Inclusion Rhonda Koroheke says these external initiatives are backed up by Spark’s growing focus on cultural diversity and inclusion.

“Our emphasis on diversity and inclusion means we can do these things authentically. It stems from a grassroots level internally, and is met with acknowledgement and encouragement at boardroom and management levels.”

“Our frontline people are now using Kia ora as a greeting, and Ngā mihi as a thank you, and our customer surveys are now also translated to Te reo Māori. We’re proud to be a big business backing the use of te reo Māori.”

“We have also just launched an internal te reo application ‘Tuia te ao’ for our Spark people to incorporate more Māori protocol and language in to their work lives.”

ENDS

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