With hours to go until the Māori Language Moment 2021, more than 1 million New Zealanders have already joined the
commission’s online Māori language movement. Organisers have dedicated this year’s Māori Language Moment to the people
of Auckland who are continuing to battle the COVID Delta outbreak and will remain in level 4 lockdown for another week.
“We dedicate our Māori Language Moment to the people of Tāmaki Makaurau as they continue to go hard on all of our
behalf,” said Māori Language Commission chief executive, Ngahiwi Apanui.
“Our language is still endangered, but winning it back isn’t a sprint: it’s a marathon. Beating COVID is also about the
long game, it’s about endurance. Kia kaha Tāmaki! Kia kaha Aotearoa!”
The commission is calling for all organisations and individuals who haven’t: to sign up and be counted.
In spite of COVID the momentum behind te reo this year has been massive. The total number of people who have pledged to
celebrate te reo since the commission began the online campaign a year ago now stands at 1.07 million. Participants who
have signed up their organisations or themselves (as individuals) to the Māori language movement are now all counted.
Māori Language Commissioner Professor Rawinia Higgins also paid tribute to Aucklanders as well as essential workers and
volunteers across Aotearoa:
“Right now, New Zealanders are showing the rest of the world what kind of people we are.
He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata. He tangata. He tangata.
What is the most important thing in the world? It is people. It is people. It is people.”
The commission is encouraging all supporters of te reo to celebrate the language in some way, from wherever they are at
12pm tomorrow, the 14th September 2021.
You can tune into the commission’s own Māori Language Moment just before 12pm where a special broadcast of a short video
showcasing the revitalisation of te reo will play. This will be available to view after (so if you are having your own
moment you can still stream it later )
Youtube account: www.youtube.com/reomaori.
This will be available to view after (so if you are having your own moment you can still stream it later)