Toi Te Reo | Toi Tangata Kura Reo: Empowering Kaimahi Hauora Through Te Reo Māori

Toi Tangata is proud to announce ‘Toi te Reo | Toi Tangata Kura Reo 2023,’ a full immersion three-day reo Māori experience aimed at nurturing te reo Māori proficiency within the health sector. Toi te Reo will take place on Wednesday 13 - Friday 15 September 2023 at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, Mokoia Campus in Rotorua.

Having hosted a virtual kura reo during 2021’s lockdown, this event marks the first in-person Toi Tangata kura reo tailored specifically to professionals within the wider health sector, highlighting the significance of te reo Māori in delivering health services to whanau. With the support of Hāpai te Hauora and Ngā Pou Mana, Toi te Reo is designed for those working within hauora/health including clinical, allied, and community based roles.

“Toi te Reo is about empowering kaimahi hauora Māori to communicate confidently in te reo Māori, giving them practical tools and support to upskill their language,” says Renei Ngawati, Toi Tangata kaimahi and lead coordinator of Toi te Reo. “Te reo Māori is a whakapapa-based right of all Māori and extends not only to those accessing health services but also to kaimahi themselves."

As a Māori health agency, Toi Tangata also recognises the demand for mātauranga and kaupapa Māori based delivery is currently outweighing the confidence and capability of some kaimahi Māori.

“It is about providing space in the sector to support reo proficiency and for reo speakers to be further acknowledged. Toi te Reo is an opportunity for kaimahi to be in a Māori environment to bring forth the reo within them, which will not only have positive outcomes for them personally, but also their mahi and the whanau they connect with,” says Renei.

Te reo Māori me ōna tikanga are vehicles of well-being for Māori - a healthy language leads to a healthy people. Toi te Reo is a tangible outcome of the commitment Toi Tangata has to investing in kaimahi hauora Māori and enabling them to deliver reo Māori services with confidence. The kura reo stems from the kaupapa, He Puna Hauora Māori, and is based on the belief that te reo Māori is an inherent right of all Māori.

About Toi Tangata

Toi Tangata is a national Māori health agency which develops, delivers, and champions kaupapa Māori based approaches to kori (physical activity) and kai (nutrition). They are a team of specialists dedicated to health approaches informed by mātauranga Māori.

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