Karakia, waiata and wero mark Ara’s Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori launch

Ara Institute of Canterbury has launched Te Wiki o te Reo Māori in full voice, with karakia, waiata, kōrero and shared kai outside Te Puna Wānaka under spring sunshine.

The event marked the beginning of a week-long celebration of te reo Māori led by ākonga, kaimahi and community.

Highlights include the much-anticipated return of Iwi-off - a high-energy showcase of reo, waiata and kotahitanga (unity) - alongside Wicked Waiata and Reo Rendezvous, offering uplifting and inclusive spaces to sing, connect and grow confidence in te reo Māori.

This year also marks a significant milestone for Aotearoa: the 50th anniversary of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori | Māori Language Week. First celebrated in 1975, the week grew out of the 1972 Māori language petition, when thousands of signatures were presented to Parliament calling for the recognition and revitalisation of te reo.

Mariechen Ngarotata, Kaiārahi Mātauranga Māori within the Māori Success Team shared a detailed timeline of the 50-year history with the crowd gathered for Ara’s lunchtime opening.

While emphasising this year’s theme - Ake Ake Ake: A Forever Language - Ngarotata gave insight into her own learning journey, growing up hearing mostly English but having a “doorway to te āo Māori opened up” through kōhanga reo (preschool) and bilingual education.

“Along the way there has been whakamā (shame), late nights of study, and the weight of injustice - but every step has been worth it,” she said.

She also shared that her children were the first in her whānau (family) to be raised with te reo Māori as their first language, and reflected on the vision of Mātua Monte Te Rere Amoamo Ohia, who taught that whānau transformation was made possible through education.

“My guiding principle is this: tīpuna (ancestors) given, mokopuna (descendants) driven. I carry the gifts and hopes of my tīpuna, I walk in the legacy of Matua Monte, and I remain driven by the future of our mokopuna,” she said.

With the words “Ko te reo te mauri o te mana Māori”, Ara's Executive Director Darren Mitchell reflected on the language as the life force of Māori identity.

“Each time we use it – a greeting, a kupu (word) in an email, a whakataukī (proverb) to share – we strengthen that mauri (life force),” he said.   “At Ara, this sits well with our Vision 2030: to be a responsive Tiriti partner, to champion diversity and inclusion, and to create reo-rich environments where Māori can succeed as Māori,” he said.

Ngarotata said everyone must be kaitiaki (guardians) of that mahi (work) adding that the first speech offered by the Māori Queen at her recent Koroneihana (coronation) provided inspiration.

“Te Arikinui Ngāwai Hono i te Pō reminded us that being Māori is forever. Our identity is not defined only in times of protest, but in the everyday expression of reo, tikanga (values), whakapapa (ancestry) and manaakitanga (hospitality),” she said.

“Her call to unity - to honour our reo, our names, our whenua (land), and our histories is a reminder that our work here at Ara - to grow reo-rich environments and to live as a responsive Tiriti partner is not only local, but part of a wider movement of indigenous resilience and renewal.”

In that spirit, a challenge was set.

“The opportunity is before us. Ara can be a leader in reo revitalisation in the tertiary sector – but only if we move from good intentions to a formal plan, with iwi, Māori, and community as partners.”

Working to ensuring te reo is forever welcomed, lived and normalised everywhere and every day. Ake ake ake.