Friday, July 27, 2007
Tēnā tatou katoa.
I am delighted to be with you for this celebration of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori-Maori Language Week at Hutt City Council.
Since the first Maori Language Week back in 1975, the Maori language has gone from strength to strength. These days Maori is widely taught in schools, Maori media has gone mainstream, and Maori words and phrases are used by Maori and non-Maori. Further evidence of the renaissance in the Maori language was provided this week with the release of a survey on the health of the Maori language which showed the number of Maori speaking, reading and writing te reo has increased; and a media report on a Maori language version of Google being developed.
I understand this year is the first time Hutt City Council has celebrated Maori Language Week. It has been a huge success with activities having been well supported by staff across the organisation which augers well for next year and beyond.
Being a lover of words and language, I want to congratulate everyone for their participation and for embracing te reo. I think it’s great that you have taken on the challenge of speaking Maori, being that it is an official language of Aotearoa and indigenous to our country.
I hope that it has been an enjoyable and rewarding experience, which maybe for some of you will be the start of a lifelong journey of learning the language and perhaps even becoming fluent in it. It might even inspire some of you to join our wonderful kapa haka group.
I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone in the Hutt City Council that been involved in organising activities to mark Maori Language Week, including: Victor Pikari, Debbie Broughton, Lyn Cribb, Alma Andrews, Anna Blomquist, Christine Kotuhi, Sandy Beath–Croft, Maree Te Ahuru and Art Noanoa.
To everyone that has received certificates for taking part in Maori Language Week, congratulations – you are all winners.
I look forward to very soon presenting taonga to the winning teams, including this beautifully carved waka for the first placed team.
Tēna huihui mai tatou katoa.