Recognising Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2022
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori provides an opportunity to raise awareness of Aotearoa New Zealand’s indigenous language, but also provides a conduit to further understanding te ao Māori (Māori world view) and its connection to business. Below, Kelly Flatz in our team reflects on participating in Maurea Consulting’s Te Kaa cultural competency programme, how this impacted her personally and the key insights for businesses looking to grow their cultural competency.
Over the past couple of months, I have been fortunate enough to participate in Te Kaa, the cultural competency programme facilitated by Precious Clark and the amazing team at Maurea Consulting.
Te Kaa has been designed to give participants the foundation to consider Māori in company decision making and processes and strengthen their knowledge of te ao Māori. As a young sustainability professional, for me this meant developing my understanding of how businesses integrate te ao Māori and Treaty principles, understanding what a ‘just transition’ looks like for tangata whenua, and deepening my awareness of how indigenous knowledge can be used to address the climate crisis.
Te Kaa has been an incredible and challenging learning experience both professionally and personally. As a young pākehā woman, I have often reckoned with how to be a good Treaty partner and how best to materialise this in my everyday life. I cannot thank the team at Maurea enough for allowing me to openly explore what this means for me, but also my fellow cohort members who generously shared their personal stories and wisdom.
This Te Wiki o te Reo Māori I will be taking time to reflect on the role we all play in the revitalisation of te Reo Māori and ensuring this toanga is protected. For me, this will include increasing my use of te Reo in the workplace and at home, and listening and being guided by tangata whenua.
If you are interested in exploring your Māori cultural competency, I cannot recommend Te Kaa more highly. They create a fun and inclusive environment that allows you to develop personal connections, explore and learn about te ao Māori, and understand how to consider Māori in decision making processes.
Te Kaa has also allowed me to build on the knowledge the Oxygen team and I developed earlier this year through Manukau Institute of Technology’s one-day cultural competency course, which covered a range of things, including the pōwhiri process, te Reo Māori pronounciation, pepeha, and te ao Māori.
If you would like to know more about either course, please see more information below.
