kei te ako au

I been away at a wānanga learning te reo Māori. It has been a hīkoi and a half for me. The first time in 2 years that i have traversed that land. Lots of insights and learning - lots of inspiration and reinforcement of values. I visited Te Papa and have some thoughts on that. They'll all come out over the next few posts for sure but for now I want to say few words about learning. Our group was 60% wāhine, 50% Māori and the median age probably early 30's. How fantastic to see the student's confidence rise after just a couple of days. Everyone got better at speaking in te reo Māori - everyone. And this is what could happen nationally - this must be what happens nationally. There is no loss, no trade off - you lose nothing and gain everything and this is avaliable for everyone potentially but we must get serious about learning te reo Māori - as a country. The recent report from Te Paepae Motuhake offers some answers

NZH

An independent Maori language review panel, released its report today following submissions from 15 hui around New Zealand and interviews with government agencies. Among its recommendations, the panel proposed introducing a Minister of Maori Language, and redirecting government funding to focus on promoting te reo in families.

That's the sort of things we need to do but will we?

I know the language won't die - it will grow and strengthen and become normalised - soonish we will all be speaking te reo Māori - get a headstart and begin learning or strengthening your te reo Māori skills - your confidence will also rise, just like me and my fellow students.