Inaugural Ngāi Tahu Reo Māori Awards 2010
23 June 2010
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu is holding its first ever Ngāi Tahu Reo Māori Awards at Ngā Hau E Whā Marae on Thursday, 24th June as part of its 10-year Kotahi Mano Kaika, Kotahi Mano Wawata (KMK) celebrations.
The awards hosted by Stacey Morrison and Ross Painiora are to honour the achievements and contribution that has been made to the revitalistation of te reo Māori in Te Waipounamu since the implementation Ngāi Tahu’s te reo Māori strategy 10 years ago.
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu’s Manager, Toitū Te Kura, Charisma Rangipunga says, "The awards are an opportunity to congratulate all those who have committed to the challenge of reigniting te reo in Te Waipounamu. They also provides us with a benchmark of how far we have come and what we need to achieve over the next 15 years to achieve our vision of Kotahi Mano Kāika, Kotahi Mano Wawata (1000 Kāi Tahu homes speaking te reo by the year 2025)."
Award categories are:
- Mātātahi Matatū – Kāi Tahu Rakatahi Reo Warrior (15-25 years old)
- Te Puna o te Kī – Kāi Tahu Kaumātua Reo Champion
- Te Pā Whakawairua – Kāi Tahu Papatipu Marae Reo Champions
- Taniwha Hikuroa - For contributions to Te Reo In the South Island
- Te Tautōhito - Reo teacher of the year
- Aoraki Matatū - Life time commitment to te reo in Kāi Tahu
54 entries were received in total. The judging panel was comprised of: Ranui Ngarimu, Paulette Tamati-Elliffe, Angela Wallace, Poia Rewi and Whetū Moataane. While the awards are a celebration of Ngāī Tahu language revitalistion, two categories: Taniwhā Hikuroa and Te Tautōhito were open to mātāwaka and tauiwi.
"We have been overwhelmed by the number of nominations for the awards", says Charisma Rangipunga.
"Even more encouraging has been the calibre of the nominees. This inaugural event will set a pretty high benchmark for the future. It certainly makes it all worthwhile." The awards aim to promote further engagement with te reo among Ngāi Tahu and the wider community and to create a sense of pride in what has been accomplished and inspire others to take up the challenge.
200 people are expected to attend the event marking the end of a two-day language symposium as part of the KMK 10-year celebrations.
"It hasn’t been easy - the challenges in implementing KMK have been enormous. But thanks to the hard work, commitment and sacrifice of some very passionate people we have come so far. When we started out te reo was a dying language among Kāī Tahu. Now 10 years down the track we are holding our inaugural reo Māori awards. What a great achievement!"
ENDS