Te Māngai Pāho to launch Facebook Pepeha Challenge and App

Utilising the hashtag #1miriona the Māori media funding agency, Te Māngai Pāho is employing social media to promote the use of te reo Māori.

Last weekend Te Māngai Pāho launched The Great Te Māngai Pāho Video Challenge to promote te reo Māori. This week the second part of the campaign includes a Pepeha Challenge where people will be asked to share their pepeha (tribal saying), and a Pepeha App to help beginning learners of te reo construct their pepeha is being released.

Te Māngai Pāho commissioned the Hahana team to make a series of eight videos that explain pepeha and show a range of people learning or reciting their respective pepeha. They then challenge a variety of other people to share their pepeha. The series of videos aims to encourage Māori and non-Māori to participate in the pepeha challenge.
(See the introductory Pepeha Challenge Video https://youtu.be/sXRjYX4V89Q)

To support this initiative, Te Māngai Pāho has commissioned Kiwa Digital to build the Pepeha App. The simple yet elegant app is a tool to help te reo Māori learners construct a pepeha, assist with pronunciation and help them publish when they are confident to share.

The Pepeha App will be launched at 5:00 pm on Monday 10th September
Te Māngai Pāho CEO, Larry Parr, said the #1miriona campaign was the first significant initiative by the agency to use social media as a tool to promote te reo Māori.

“The number of people being exposed to information that is disseminated by social media channels is too big to ignore,” Mr Parr said and added, “We are pleased and excited by the initial response to the Te Māngai Pāho Video challenge.”

“#1miriona provides the opportunity to build an online audience that we, together with our partners, can take on a te reo Māori learning journey. It is consistent with our strategy to shift people from Zero to Passive to Active speakers of te reo Māori and aligns with the Government goal of having one million kiwis speaking some Māori by 2040.”

The #1miriona campaign complements other Māori language promotion activities taking place during the month, particularly Mahuru Māori, Māori Language Day, and Te Wiki o te reo Māori.

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