Te reo Māori is set to become more visible and heard in communities across Aotearoa, with 19 organisations named as recipients of the Te Reo Towns Activation Fund.
The funding recipients stretch from Kaitaia and Whangārei in Te Tai Tokerau to Invercargill in Murihiku, and across to Wharekauri in the Chatham Islands, bringing schools, iwi organisations, councils, museums, kōhanga reo and community groups into the kaupapa.
The initiative, associated with Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori – the Māori Language Commission, is aimed at supporting communities to activate te reo Māori locally and strengthen its presence in everyday life.
Among those selected is Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa in Wairoa, alongside Ngaa Waka Kootuitui in Kaitaia, Te Rūnanga o Whaingaroa in Kāeo, Te Whare Taiao o Rangitāne Limited in Dannevirke and Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri Iwi Trust Board in Wharekauri.
From councils to kura
The recipients show the kaupapa reaching well beyond traditional language organisations.
Local government is represented by Masterton District Council and Rangitīkei District Council, while education providers include Bayfield High School in Dunedin, Shotover Primary School in Queenstown, Te Kamo High School in Whangārei and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Rito in Ōtaki.
Te Kōhanga Reo o Reremoana Ruruhira in Napier and the Kawerau Youth Council are also among the successful applicants, bringing both early learning and rangatahi into the nationwide activation.
Other recipients include Te Reo Tuatahi in Whanganui, Ngā Kaihaki o Ngāti Kauwhata in Feilding, Taupō Museum and Art Gallery, Waihōpai Rūnaka Incorporated in Invercargill and Te Aroha Kanarahi Trust in Te Araroa.
The geographic spread is one of the strongest features of the fund.
Rather than concentrating language revitalisation in major centres, the successful applicants include provincial towns, rural communities and islands where local organisations can shape initiatives around the people and whakapapa of their rohe.
Taking te reo beyond the classroom
The involvement of councils, iwi, schools and community organisations also reflects a wider ambition for language revitalisation — making te reo Māori something encountered throughout ordinary community life.
For revitalisation to succeed, te reo needs places where it can be spoken, heard, read and normalised.
That means its future does not rest solely with fluent speakers, kura or formal language programmes.
It can also be strengthened through workplaces, community organisations, public spaces, local events and the everyday interactions that determine whether a language is visible and alive.
The 19 successful recipients demonstrate just how local that movement can become.
From Whanganui to Wairoa, Kāeo to Kawerau, Ōtaki to Queenstown and Wharekauri to Invercargill, Te Reo Towns is putting communities themselves at the centre of strengthening the language.
Because the future of te reo Māori will not only be determined by how many people learn the language.
It will also be determined by how many places across Aotearoa give people the confidence and opportunity to use it.
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