Media Release – 21 June 2017
“Iwi aims to inspire the inspirers”
Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc. is thrilled to host the second language revitalization symposium, named ‘Te reo ki tua!’, a new
initiative that has been developed to further enhance the Ngāti Kahungunu Māori Language Strategy which strives for te
reo Māori to be successfully revitalized by 2027. This initiative showcases some of the tribe's and nation’s most
prolific language exponents who have worked tirelessly over decades to successfully revive the language within Aotearoa
which was all but nearly decimated during the early 1900s. This symposium enlists an array of well-known personalities
who are all second language learners, having made successful careers within the field.
The ultimate goal from this symposium is to raise awareness around the dire state of our dying language, and to inspire
second language learners who will in turn inspire others to learn and save the language. The array of speakers covers
all facets of the world of language revitalization, from kapa haka, to marae, to media, to the arts, to teaching, to
bi-lingualism within communities, to raising children in a bi-lingual environment, to astronomy. This symposium is for
anyone who is interested in hearing innovative ways of learning te reo, mastering te reo, promoting te reo, revitalizing
te reo and maintaining the zest required to raise native Māori speaking children. The symposium aims at inspiring the
key language movers and shakers within the expanse of the Ngāti Kahungunu tribal region. The symposium will be
bi-lingual to ensure that the message is received by all attendees.
Ngāti Kahungunu suffered major language losses at the hand of colonization and still witnesses a depleting pool of
native speakers of the language. “Our tribe must act urgently to safeguard and protect the language” says Iwi Director
of Te Reo and Tikanga Jeremy Tātere MacLeod, “And this two day symposium serves to increase awareness, to encourage
second language learners, to strengthen key language champions and to give families the tools for making their homes
bi-lingual. People are our greatest resource”. This two day symposium will attract up to 500 keen language enthusiasts
from around the nation, especially those who are keen to learn and share innovative methods of saving endangered
languages. Iwi leaders anticipate that this will generate a huge amount of interest from the language community within
New Zealand and extend a warm invitation to anyone keen to attend.
The symposium will be held at Clubs Hastings on Thursday 24 and Friday 25 August 2017.
Please visit http://www.kahungunu.iwi.nz/te-reo-symposium for a full programme and list of speakers.