Whānau are the driving force behind the revitalisation of te reo Māori

Te Rau Winterburn is kaiwhakahaere Kaupapa Māori - Head of Māori Initiatives at Education Perfect.

Opinion

There is a noticeable shift taking place across Aotearoa.

Kiwi of all backgrounds, ethnicities and locations are embracing Te Reo Māori (The Māori Language) and concepts and values derived from Te Ao Māori (The Māori World).

We now see and hear more Te Reo Māori than ever in all facets of life – on television, in schools, in communities, in organisations and amenities.

More and more Kiwi are embracing our indigenous language.

The Ministry of Education has developed a new curriculum subject focused entirely on our combined histories.

Aotearoa New Zealand Histories curriculum will commence in 2023.

What does this mean for students who attend schools in Aotearoa?

All children from Years 1 to 10 will be required to learn about our histories (national, regional and iwi) from next year. This is a significant leap forward for our country and education system.

Many Kiwi will admit that our collective knowledge of our own stories is shallow, that most studied histories of foreign countries, leaders and individuals.

But with the implementation of this new curriculum, our tamariki (children) and young professionals will have an expanded understanding of Māori language and cultural practices that will become organic in their everyday lives.

Whānau is a driving force for many of the adult learners on the EP Te Ao Māori courses, noting that their children's learning has both challenged and inspired them to delve a bit deeper into Te Ao Māori.

This has come to fruition as learning new phrases or waiata (songs), finding new ways to celebrate occasions such as Matariki and even researching a little more into their own family histories.

This can also be a way to turn screen time into a positive family experience.

Te Ao Māori for Everyone, can be used as an interactive, family challenge: 'Most correct answers gets off doing the dishes' or 'Best pronunciation of place names doesn't have to take out the bins!'

There are many possibilities for keeping te reo Māori fun and engaging.

Aotearoa New Zealand Histories supports the Ministry of Education's commitment to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

"We are passionate about playing a major role in scaling Māori language and cultural education in the schooling system, in the professional world and for every Kiwi," says Alex Burke, the CEO of Education Perfect.

''But we need support from our government to achieve this goal. We believe that with our technology and their support we could help accelerate their Māori language goal set for 2040."

The platform allows their 50,000 daily users to customise their own localised learning material.

Local providers and tribal experts have the ability to rework existing lessons or create new lessons specific to their region and people.

Local hapū and marae are utilising this feature and using EP as a vehicle to upskill and connect with tribal members; while businesses are customising the Professionals course to include company values, onboarding instructions, karakia and waiata.

Education Perfect is supporting the uplift of general knowledge and capability of Kiwi in this essential part of our nation's identity, and provides learning material and support mechanisms that assist schools, community groups and organisations alike to step into Te Ao Māori in a safe and mana enhancing way.

Te Rau Winterburn is kaiwhakahaere Kaupapa Māori - Head of Māori Initiatives at Education Perfect.