The what and how of te reo in your workplace

We all have a role in normalising te reo Māori. This can be as simple as replacing “Hello” with “Kia ora”, committing to bilingual signage and job titles or more complex such as creating policy to ensure wider Aotearoa see the value add of te reo Māori. Use our assessment to see how your organisation currently supports te reo Māori and think about how your organisation can support the reo Māori journey of Aotearoa.

Some te reo Māori normalisation exemplars from across the NZ Public Sector

Waka Kotahi – Land Transport Agency

Continues to change road signage (including names of places) to correct reo Māori names and has released A package of 94 bilingual traffic signs for consultation as part of the He Tohu Huarahi Māori bilingual traffic signs programme led by Te Mātāwai and Waka Kotahi to enable the use of more te reo Māori on traffic signs across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Te Kawa Mataaho – Public Service Commission

Conducted Te Taunaki, the Public Service Census, in 2020/21. The survey asked public servants what languages they could use to discuss a lot of everyday things and included te reo Māori as an option. The survey also asked questions about using, learning, valuing and hearing te reo Māori at their agency. The results of these have enabled agencies to plan for internal activities undertaken in the 2021/22 year, e.g. provision of te reo Māori classes.

Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga – Ministry of Education

Commenced the rollout of Te Ahu o te Reo Māori in 2021/22 to improve te reo Māori proficiency, acquisition and use across the education workforce. The training is to grow confidence in using and integrating te reo Māori for all children and young people in early education and schools

Te Reo Māori and your organisation’s core business/offer

Incorporating te reo Māori into your organisation's offer, making it more diverse and inclusive, elevates your client’s experience. Te reo Māori serves as a powerful tool to engage with Aotearoa by providing warmth and friendliness to emotionally connect. Aotearoa’s culture and demographics are changing. Younger New Zealanders are increasingly embracing, and actively using, te reo Māori. Plan for the future by integrating te reo Māori into your organisation's core business.

What next? Annual Reporting for the Public Service and Crown Entities

The Public Service must report their language planning (normalisation) in their Annual Reports and other End-of-Year Performance Reporting. Crown Entities are also encouraged to report language planning(normalisation) activity when Preparing the Annual Report and other End-of-Year Reporting. Use the summary provided by our assessment as a guide for the language planning/te reo Māori section of these reports.

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