Te reo Māori champions urged to get ready for $3.2m fund

20 June 2016

Te reo Māori champions urged to get ready for $3.2 te reo fund

Māori language champions passionate about getting their communities to learn and love te reo Māori are being urged to ready themselves for a $3.2 million contestable fund from Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori.

“We are about to open applications for this fund and we want Māori to get ready by starting the conversation now, amongst themselves, and registering with us if this is an opportunity they want to pursue,” said Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori chief executive Ngahiwi Apanui.

Iwi, hapū, marae, whānau and organisations wanting to run language courses, produce language resources and organise language events are eligible to apply to the Mā te Reo contestable fund.

“This fund is about local ideas and local solutions so there is support for te reo revitalisation efforts in the regions that increase speaker numbers, proficiency levels and raise awareness about the language,” said Mr Apanui.

“Whether it is holding wānanga whaikōrero, karanga or a special te reo-focused event, the fund criteria is flexible enough to accommodate most initiatives.”

Applications for the fund open on 1 July 2016 and close on 31 July 2016.

Mā te Reo is the only fund of its kind – providing a critical opportunity for locally driven and focussed Māori language initiatives to gain support and build on growing the language in the regions.

For the last 15 years the Commission has supported more than 1,600 Mā te Reo projects, including, whānau-produced resources, iwi and hapū language books and glossaries, language learning classes, immersion language programmes and special events encouraging Māori language use, for example, story-telling sessions in Māori for children.

2016/17 will be the final Mā te Reo round the Commission runs before this funding is transferred to Te Mātāwai.

Those interested in applying must register online at http://funding.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz/

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