Nā Shakayla Andrews-Alapaki tēnei atikara.
Whether they're just beginning their te reo Māori journey or looking for new ways to use the language every day, people across Te Waipounamu and Rēkohu/Wharekauri are marking Te Wiki o te Reo Māori with events designed to get communities celebrating te reo Māori.
Now in its 51st year, Te Wiki o te Reo Māori continues to encourage New Zealanders to embrace te reo Māori in everyday life.
This year's theme, Tāone Reo Māori, highlights the importance of creating spaces where te reo can be spoken naturally in homes, workplaces and communities.
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori Tumu Whakahaere Ngahiwi Apanui says language revitalisation is not the responsibility of schools and language experts alone.
"E tautoko ana te rangatū kauhaurangi nei i te kaupapa matua o Te Wiki 2026, arā, ko Tāone Reo Māori, mā te whakaatu i ngā tauira o te reo e ora ana i roto i ngā kāinga, ngā hapori, ngā wāhi mahi me ngā wāhi auaha puta noa i te motu."
Ōtautahi / Waitaha
In Ōtautahi, organisations across the city are hosting events to encourage greater use of te reo Māori.
Christchurch City Council and Te Wānanga o Aotearoa's Christchurch campus are supporting Te Wiki o te Reo Māori with a range of activities throughout the week, including te reo sessions at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve. Visitors will also be able to access a te reo Māori version of the park map.
The council and the wānanga are also backing HAPA's second annual Reo Māori Hokohoko Day, which will offer a 15 per cent discount to customers who use te reo Māori. Local businesses FUSH in Wigram and Papa Smashie's in Sydenham will also host events encouraging customers to give te reo Māori a go while ordering kai.
Kaitohutohu Whakauru Tauira Kiriana Welsh-Phillips said the initiative was driven by feedback from tauira who wanted more opportunities to practise their reo in community settings.
"For us, this kaupapa is about creating more opportunities to use te reo Māori in everyday settings while celebrating and promoting businesses that are willing and able to understand and kōrero Māori, not only for our tauira but for the wider hapori."
Kōrero ki Ōtautahi founder Tarryn Ryan (Kāi Tahu) will lead Friday's Hīkoi mō te Reo from Christchurch's Bridge of Remembrance to Cathedral Square marking the event's third consecutive year.
“When the last group arrives at the Square, we're going to get everyone singing Te Taukaea Aroha together,” Ryan said.
“After that we've got performances from Te Rōpū Tūhono and the Christchurch City Council Waiata Group…. It's an all-ages event, so bring everybody and come celebrate our reo rangatira.”
Ōtākou / Otago
Across Otago, communities are offering opportunities to learn, practise and celebrate the language.
In Wānaka, a week of activities begins with a Te Reo Māori taster class on Monday before continuing with reo storytime sessions and culminating in a community waiata gathering later in the week.
In Ōtepoti, Otago Polytechnic will host a series of workshops for students, including tukutuku panel making, raranga with local weaver Lucy Smith (Te Whānau ā Apanui) and a kapa haka workshop.
University of Otago students will also be able to take part in activities including waiata learning sessions and a reo speech competition called Wahapū.
The wider public will have opportunities to participate in events hosted by the Dunedin City Council throughout the week.
Murihiku
In Murihiku, Te Rūnaka o Waihōpai is encouraging people to embrace the theme of speaking as much te reo Māori as possible through its Whiria Te Reo event.
Held at Murihiku Marae, the afternoon will feature waiata, raranga, tukutuku, poi making, Māori games and opportunities to learn more about the marae and local tikanga.
Rēkohu / Wharekauri
On Rēkohu, Whakamaharatanga Marae will host Kia Rere te Reo ki Wharekauri, giving whānau the chance to learn karakia and practise their pepeha.
Later in the week, Te Pūnaha Ora will host a Kapu Tī Kōrero session centred on the whakataukī "Ko te rongoā o te ata, ko te katakata".
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For those unable to attend events in person, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori is again hosting its lunchtime webinar series, Te Reo o Te Kāinga.
The four-part series highlights the people and communities helping te reo Māori thrive in everyday life.
Among this year's speakers are Kōtahi Mano Kāika manager Paulette Tāmati-Elliffe (Kāi Te Ruahikihiki, Te Ati Awa) and her son Kiringāua Cassidy (Kāi Te Ruahikihiki, Ngāpuhi, Te Ati Awa) who will share their intergenerational experiences of Māori language revitalisation during a Zoom session on Wednesday.
Te Taura Whiri o Te Reo Māori Tumu Whakahaere, Ngahiwi Apanui says that Tamati-Elliffe and Cassidy were chosen because they are outstanding examples of the intergenerational transmission of te reo Māori.
“I whakaaro mātou he mea motuhake te whai wāhi mai a te whaea me tana tama ki te kōrero tahi mō te whakatipu reo i te kāinga, nā te mea ka kitea tonutia ngā hua o ngā mahi whakarauora reo i roto i tō rāua ake whānau”
As communities gather across the motu, organisers hope the week will inspire more people to take the next step in their reo journey and continue using te reo Māori beyond Te Wiki o te Reo Māori.
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Ahakoa kei te timatanga o te ara reo Māori, kei te rapu huarahi hōu rānei hei whakamahi i te reo, he maha ngā whānau huri noa i te takiwā o Te Waipounamu me Rēkohu/Wharekauri e whakanui ana i Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, e whakakōtahi ana i te hapori ki te whakamahi i te reo Māori.
Koinei te tau 51, ā, ko Te Wiki o te Reo Māori tērā hei akiaki i te motu whānui kia tauawhi i te reo Māori i te ao, i te pō.
Ko te kaupapa matua i tēnei tau ko ‘Tāone Reo Māori’, ā, e whakahirahira ana i te waihanga wāhi kia kōrerotia whānuitia te reo ki ngā kāinga, ngā wāhi mahi me te hapori whānui.
E ai ki te Tumu Whakahaere o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, a Ngahiwi Apanui, ehara i te mea ka kawe noa iho ngā kura me ngā mātanga reo i te haepapatanga o te whakarauora reo.
"E tautoko ana te rangatū kauhaurangi nei i te kaupapa matua o Te Wiki 2026, arā, ko Tāone Reo Māori, mā te whakaatu i ngā tauira o te reo e ora ana i roto i ngā kāinga, ngā hapori, ngā wāhi mahi me ngā wāhi auaha puta noa i te motu."
Ōtautahi / Waitaha
Kei Ōtautahi e tū ana e ngā wāhi mahi huri noa i te taone i ngā kaupapa hei akiaki i te kōrero reo Māori.
E tautoko ana te Kaunihera o Ōtautahi me Te Wānanga o Aotearoa ki Ōtautahi i Te Wiki o te Reo Māori mā te whānuitanga o ngā kaupapa puta noa i te wiki, tae atu ki ngā akoranga reo ki Willowbank Wildlife Reserve. Ka wātea hoki he mahere o te papa rā i te reo Māori mā ngā manuhiri.
Ko te Kaunihera me te wānanga hoki tērā hoki e tautoko ana i te rā Reo Māori Hokohoko ā HAPA, ka tukuna he hekenga utu 15 ōrau mō ngā kaihokio e kōrero ana i te reo Māori. Ka whakahaeretia he kaupapa anō ngā pakihi ā-rohe pērā i a FUSH ki Wigram me Papa Smashie’s ki Sydenham, hei whakatenatena i te tangata ki te whakamātau i te reo Māori i a rātou e tono kai ana.
E mea ana te Kaitohutohu Whakauru Tauira o Te Wānanga o Aotearoa ki Ōtautahi, a Kiriana Welsh-Phillips, nā ngā whakahoki kōrero o ngā tauira i kōkiri ai ēnei kaupapa me tā rātou hiahia kia parakitihi i te reo ki te hāpori.
"For us, this kaupapa is about creating more opportunities to use te reo Māori in everyday settings while celebrating and promoting businesses that are willing and able to understand and kōrero Māori, not only for our tauira but for the wider hapori."
Ko Tarryn Ryan (Kāi Tahu) tērā, te kaiwhakahaere o Kōrero ki Ōtautahi, ka ārahi i te Hīkoi mō te Reo ā te Paraire nei, mai i te Bridge of Remembrance ki Cathedral Square i Ōtautahi, hei tohu i te tau tuatoru o tēnei kaupapa e tū haere ana.
“When the last group arrives at the Square, we're going to get everyone singing Te Taukaea Aroha together,” hei tā Ryan.
“After that we've got performances from Te Rōpū Tūhono and the Christchurch City Council Waiata Group…. It's an all-ages event, so bring everybody and come celebrate our reo rangatira.”
Ōtākou / Otago
Puta noa i te rohe o Ōtākou, he āheinga kei tēnā hāpori, kei tēnā hāpori ki te whakaako, te whakaharatau me te whakanui i te reo.
Kei Wānaka, e timata ana ngā mahi hei te mane me tētahi karaehe reo Māori, ā, ka whakakapi ki tētahi waiata-ā-hāpori nei hei te mutunga o te wiki.
Kei Ōtepoti, ka kōkirihia e Te Pūkenga Otago Polytechnic he raupapa awheawhe mā ngā tauira, arā ko te mahi tukutuku, ko te raranga me te kaiwhatu o te rohe, a Lucy Smith (Te Whānau ā Apanui), me tētahi awheawhe kapa haka.
Ka whai wāhi hoki ngā tauira o te Otākou Whakaihu Waka ki ngā kaupapa. Mai i te Pā Reo Māori, tae atu ki ngā wānanga ako waiata me tētahi whakataetae kōrero reo Māori e kīia nei ko Wahapū.
Mō te marea whānui, he maha ngā kaupapa ka puta noa i te wiki, ā, mā te Kaunihera o Ōtepoti i whakarite, hei whai wāhi mā te iwi ki te whakanui i te reo Māori.
Murihiku
Kei Murihiku, e akiaki ana a Te Rūnaka o Waihōpai i te iwi kia aro nui ki te kaupapa o te kōrero Māori i ngā wā katoa mā roto mai i tā rātou kaupapa, Whiria Te Reo.
Ka tū taua kaupapa ki Murihiku Marae, ā, ka whai wāhi ngā tāngata ki te waiata, te raranga, te mahi tukutuku, te hanga poi, ngā kēmu Māori, me ngā whai wāhitanga ki te ako i ngā kōrero mō te marae me ngā tikanga o te rohe. Ka timata tēnei hei te ahiahi o te Rāhina.
Rēkohu / Wharekauri
Kei Rēkohu/Wharekauri, ka whakahaerehia e te marae o Whakamaharatanga te kaupapa o ‘Kia Rere te Reo ki Wharekauri’, hei whai wāhi mā ngā whānau ki te ako karakia me te whakaharatau i ō rātou pepeha.
Ā muri ake i te wiki, ka whakahaerehia e Te Pūnaha Ora tētahi hui Kōrero Kapu Tī, e hāngai ana ki te whakataukī, "Ko te rongoā o te ata, ko te katakata."
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Mō te hunga kāore e taea te tae ā-tinana atu ki ngā kaupapa, ka hoki anō a Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori ki te whakahaere i tana raupapa wānanga ipurangi o te wā tina, arā, ko Te Reo o Te Kāinga.
E whā ngā wāhanga o tēnei kaupapa, ā, ka whakaatu i ngā whānau, ngā hāpori rānei e whakapakari ana i te reo Māori kia ora ai, kia rangona ai i ngā horopaki o ia rā.
Ko ētahi o ngā kaikōrero o tēnei tau ko te kaiwhakahaere o Kōtahi Mano Kāika, a Paulette Tāmati-Elliffe (Kāi Te Ruahikihiki, Te Āti Awa), me tana tama, a Kiringāua Cassidy (Kāi Te Ruahikihiki, Ngāpuhi, Te Āti Awa). Ka kōrero rāua mō ō rāua wheako ā-whakatupuranga mō te whakarauoratanga o te reo Māori i tētahi hui Zoom ā te Wenerei.
Hei tā Ngahiwi Apanui, i kōwhiria a Tāmati-Elliffe rāua ko Cassidy nā te mea he tino tauira rāua mō te tuku iho o te reo Māori i waenga i ngā whakatupuranga.
“I whakaaro mātou he mea motuhake te whai wāhi mai a te whaea me tana tama ki te kōrero tahi mō te whakatipu reo i te kāinga, nā te mea ka kitea tonutia ngā hua o ngā mahi whakarauora reo i roto i tō rāua ake whānau”
E whakakōtahi ana te motu, ka mutu, ko te manako ia ka whakahihiko tēnei wiki kia anga whakamua me tā rātou ara reo Māori me te whakamahi i te reo kei tua atu i Te Wiki o te Reo Māori.