Ngā Tohu Reo Māori is an annual flagship celebration. It honours the achievements of people who are making a notable contribution to the normalisation and revitalisation of te reo Māori.

The kaupapa is about uplifting the status of te reo Māori and acknowledging those who are bringing the vision to life, in community, the private sector, academia and throughout the country – kia mauriora te reo. 

This year’s Ngā Tohu Reo Māori will take place on the evening of 7 November 2025 in Wellington.

Nominations are now closed!

Nominations for Ngā Tohu Reo Māori 2025 are now closed 

Thank you to everyone who took the time to submit a nomination. We acknowledge the contributions of those were nominated, to the revitalisation and normalisation of te reo Māori in Aotearoa.

Winners will be announced publicly at the Ngā Tohu Reo Māori event on 7 November 2025 in Wellington 

The Awards

The award categories for Ngā Tohu Reo Māori 2025 have undergone a refresh. They are now based on the five internationally recognised and key elements of language planning and revitalisation. The long-standing Tū Rangatira (Supreme Award) and Tohu Oranga Angitu (Lifetime Achievement) remain.  You can read more about the awards below. 

Using te reo Māori in everyday life 

This award celebrates community based kaupapa that have encouraged the use of te reo Māori as a normal, everyday, living language.

Hei Tauira:

Nominees may be sports clubs or teams who have committed touppingtheir use of te reo in training and games, community groups that offer bilingual or immersion hobby or interest meet-ups that grow and normalise te reo, public art projects that centre on te reo Māori use, creating new or translating resources for community that have previously only been available in English or Councils who have committed to becoming bi-lingual towns.   

Championing te reo Māori learning 

This award recognises individuals, groups or organisations who have inspired and motivated others to learn te reo Māori.

Hei Tauira:

Nominees may be inspiring kaiako, reo Māori community classes, workplace strategies to grow kaimahi skills in te reo Māori, or online campaigns that boost learning. This can also include intergenerational transmission and first language kaupapa, or learning te reo Māori as a second language through early learning, through to tertiary level and online teaching.

Uplifting te reo Māori 

This award recognises kaupapa in the private sector that encourage people to support and value te reo Māori and see it as a key part of our national identity.

Hei Tauira:

Nominees may be businesses who have built te reo Māori into their mahi and interactions with New Zealanders, creating bilingual product lines, moving to prominent bilingual signage, integrating te reo into a large public events, increasing te reo Māori content or commentary on international profile games, correcting long-held mispronunciation or spelling in a business name or product, introducing te reo Maori as part of their service offerings or how they do business everyday i.e. bilingual banking apps.

Promoting te reo Māori awareness 

This award recognises outstanding efforts to ensure people are aware te reo Māori is endangered and understand how they can play a role in revitalising it.

Hei Tauira:

Nominees may be researchers, academics, public advocates, online campaigns, education initiatives, public education campaigns, information profiles or community activities that raise awareness and understanding of the state of te reo Māori, and encourage all New Zealanders togive te reo a go’, ‘use as much as you can’ or even inspire a lifelong path in learning te reo Māori. 

Supporting the richness of te reo Māori 

This award acknowledges that hundreds of new words enter languages every year, and te reo Māori is no different, thanks to the talented people and innovative projects that create and promote them.

Hei Tauira:

Nominees may be translators, lexicon and vocabulary developers, academics, linguists, musicians, poets, artists, content creators, bilingual resource developers, creators of online glossaries, dictionaries, translation tools, publishers etc.   

Exemplifying leadership and outstanding advocacy for te reo Māori 

This award recognises those who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, going above and beyond in their commitment to championing te reo Māori.

FAQs

Nominations will close on June 29 at 11.59 pm

If you have a nomination that has been submitted, you can delete your nomination from the main page in the application portal and submit a new one. If your application is in progress, you are able to make as many changes as you want up until the time it is submitted.

You can nominate your entry in every category for which meets the criteria. In fact we encourage you to do so.

You do not have to be Māori to make a nomination or be nominated. Te reo Māori is an official language of Aotearoa. The role of Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori is to support the normalisation and revitalisation of te reo Māori for all people of Aotearoa. Ngā Tohu Reo Māori is open to all New Zealanders who are celebrating and supporting as champions for te reo Māori.

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori is focused on normalising and revitalising te reo Māori in Aotearoa. So nominations for Ngā Tohu Reo Māori should reflect the impact of work done in Aotearoa, or for the people of Aotearoa. Though nominees could be based elsewhere.

Not at this stage, however if tickets become available, we will share updates here.

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