Wellington City Council and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori have signed a mahi tahi agreement with the goal to work together on revitalising te reo Māori in the capital city.
Mayor Justin Lester and Te Taura Whiri CEO Ngahiwi Apanui signed the agreement at a small ceremony on Monday, April 15.
“This whakaetanga kia mahi tahi is a great opportunity for Wellington on our journey to become a bilingual te reo Māori and English city,” Mayor Justin Lester says.
“We have already partnered with Te Taura Whiri on projects such as the haka pedestrian lanterns and te reo Māori street flags, so formalising the relationship is important.
“I am excited to work together on many other initiatives in the years to come.”
The mahi tahi (work together) agreement commits the two organisations to combining resources to increase the use, status and modern-day relevance of te reo Māori.
This could include advice, research and planning support, collaboration on projects in the city, the sharing of language resources, partner on events of city, regional and national significance.
Wellington City Council also agrees to use licensed translators for publications and promotional material, and interpreters at public events when required.
“We need partnerships like this to help us put the building blocks in place for a New Zealand that embraces and proudly speaks te reo Māori,” Te Taura Whiri CEO Ngahiwi Apanui says.
The agreement was an item in the action plan of Wellington City Council’s Te Tauihu policy.
E mahi tahi ana mō te reo i te tāone matua
I waitohua e te Kaunihera o Pōneke rāua tahi ko Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori te whakaaetanga e mahi tahi ai rāua kia rauora ai te reo Māori i te tāone matua.
I haina te Koromatua a Justin Lester me te Tumuaki o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori a Ngahiwi Apanui i te whakaaetanga i te Rāhina 15 o Paengawhāwha.
“He huarahi whakahirahira tēnei whakaaetanga mahi tahi e tere ai a Pōneke i tana haere kia reo rua ai tō tātou tāone,” hei tā te Koromatua a Justin Lester.
“Kua mahi tahi kē mātou ki Te Taura Whiri ki te hanga i ngā rama whakawhiti kapa haka me te waihanga haki reo Māori, nā reira i nui ai te whakaōkawa i te hononga i waenganui i ngā whakahaere e rua.”
“Ihihi ana ahau ki te mahi tahi i ētahi kaupapa anō ā ngā tau e haere ake nei.”
Ka here te whakaaetanga mahi tahi nei i ngā whakahaere e rua ki te whakatōpū rawa e nui ake ai te whakamahinga, te mana me te hāngai o te reo ki te ao o muri nei.
Ka tae atu tēnei ki te tuku whakamāherehere, te rangahau, te tautoko i te whakamahere reo Māori, te tohatoha rauemi me te mahi tahi i ngā kaupapa reo mō te tāone, te rohe me Aotearoa whānui tonu.
E whakaae ana hoki te Kaunihera o Pōneke ki te whakamahi i ngā kaiwhakamāori kua raihanatia ki te whakamāori i ngā tānga me ngā rauemi whakatairanga, ki te whakamāori ā-waha anō hoki ki ngā kaupapa tūmatanui a te Kaunihera.
“Mā ēnei momo rangapū e ita ai te tūāpapa mō te Aotearoa matapopore, whakahīhī anō hoki i tana kōrero i te reo Māori,” hei tā Ngahiwi Apanui te Tumuaki o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori.
He kaupapa tēnei whakaaetanga i te mahere hohenga o te kaupapa here reo Māori a te Kaunihera arā Te Tauihu.
-WCC