'He mauri te reo Māori nō Aotearoa māu, mā tātou katoa'

'MAKE TE REO MĀORI AN ESSENTIAL PART OF NEW ZEALAND FOR YOU, FOR US ALL'

The theme will be 'Kia Kaha te Reo Māori’ following on from the success of last year.  ‘Kia Kaha’ is well known in New Zealand English with its correct Māori meaning of ‘be strong’. We often talk about languages as if they are people – talking about language health, strength and revitalisation.

So when we say ‘Kia Kaha te Reo Māori’ we’re saying  - ‘Let’s make the Māori language strong'.

“Strength for an endangered language comes from its status, people being aware of how to support revitalisation, people acquiring and using it and from the language having the right words and terms to be used well for any purpose."

Every New Zealander can help strengthen our language. With the date and theme fixed, we’re hoping that more organisations, companies and community groups than ever will plan to take part in Māori Language Week 2019.

Six parades were held during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2018 to celebrate te reo Māori.

Watch the highlights from the Wellington and Auckland parades 2018