Maihi Māori
Leadership by iwi and Māori
Led by Te Mātāwai on behalf of iwi and Māori, with a focus on homes, communities and restoring te reo Māori as a nurturing first language.
Reo Chat and revitalisation
A practical contribution to a much bigger kaupapa
Te reo Māori revitalisation lives in whānau, hapū, iwi, kura, communities, friendships and all the places where people pass the language on and use it with one another.
Reo Chat helps people participate by making everyday digital communication across different levels of reo easier.
From seeing te reo to living in te reo
Languages need places where they can actually be used.
Signs, greetings, names and ceremonial occasions all help make te reo Māori visible. They affirm its status as the indigenous language of Aotearoa, and help people become more familiar with it.
Genuine revitalisation also reaches into people communicating with one another in Māori: in homes, friendships, whānau, communities and ordinary daily life.
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori identifies use (Kōrerotanga) as one of the central elements of language revitalisation: people reading, writing, speaking and understanding te reo Māori in many places and circumstances (domains).
Its ZePA model also recognises that revitalisation reaches beyond Māori speakers and depends in part on te reo Māori being valued across Aotearoa. It describes movement from opposition or inactivity towards active support.
A language lives when people can use it with one another as part of life, not only when they encounter it on special occasions.
Using technology such as mobile devices and computers to communicate with people ("messaging") is now one of those ordinary domains. It is where friends make plans, whānau stay connected, colleagues work together and communities organise themselves.
A shared effort
Māori-led and Crown-supported
Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016 recognises te reo Māori as a taonga of iwi and Māori, and iwi and Māori as its kaitiaki. It established a shared approach to revitalisation through Te Whare o te Reo Mauriora.
Maihi Karauna
Support throughout Aotearoa
The Crown strategy supports a national environment where te reo Māori is valued, learned and used.
Maihi Karauna makes room for everyone in Aotearoa to support revitalisation, including people who do not speak te reo Māori. That broad participation goes hand in hand with protecting the integrity of the language and recognising iwi and Māori as its kaitiaki.
Te Mātāwai describes its purpose as creating conditions where whānau, hapori, iwi and Māori can drive their own solutions. That supports a simple Reo Chat principle: your reo is yours.
Transmission and connection
A small but meaningful part
Te Mātāwai's vision is Kia ūkaipō anō te reo: restoring te reo Māori as a nurturing first language for tamariki and mokopuna. Its two current priority outcomes are:
Tukuihotanga
Deliberate intergenerational transmission
Hononga Hapori Reo
Connected language-speaker communities
Reo Chat supports these priorities in a practical way. It can help you bring more reo into communication with whānau, stay in the same conversation across different levels of proficiency, and choose Māori in more situations without excluding the person at the other end.
Māori in everyday digital life
Everywhere, everyway, every day
Te Puni Kōkiri's current description of Maihi Karauna says that for te reo Māori to thrive, it needs to be present in homes, schools, workplaces, communities, public services and online.
“Kia māhorahora te reo – everywhere, everyway, for everyone, every day.”
Te Puni Kōkiri, Maihi Karauna
Reo Chat plays a small but meaningful part across three wider outcomes:
Aotearoatanga
Helping te reo Māori feel like an ordinary language of contemporary Aotearoa, including online.
Mātauranga
Creating opportunities to grow knowledge and proficiency through genuine communication.
Hononga
Creating more opportunities through which people can engage with te reo Māori.
Primary sources and further reading
- Te Mātāwai: Vision & Strategy
- Te Mātāwai: Statement of Intent 2024–2027
- Te Mātāwai: Hawaiki Mokopuna
- Te Puni Kōkiri: Maihi Karauna
- Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori 2016
- Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori: Revitalisation tools
The Maihi Karauna page notes that the Crown strategy is currently being refreshed. We will review this page when the refreshed strategy is published.
Make more room for te reo Māori in everyday communication.
Use what you have. Keep your own voice. Make Māori the reo through which you connect with more people in your life.
Create a bilingual message