Te Tauihu Te reo Māori Policy

Te Tauihu Te reo Māori Policy

A te reo Māori City by 2040 The Māori language is the indigenous language of New Zealand and has inherent mana and is enduring. It is an official language of New Zealand and is important to the identity of New Zealand. As the capital city, Wellington is well placed and a natural home where the status of te reo Māori should be recognised and built into the cultural fabric of the city. Te Tauihu commits the Council to elevate the status of te reo Māori, it acknowledges the history of our country, the whakapapa of the region and it reinforces the mana of Māori culture within Wellington as the capital city of New Zealand. The Council has a central role to facilitate this, through its partnership with mana whenua iwi, through its own decision making processes and functions, in how it communicates, through city signage, facilities and design and through its cultural investment. Our vision for Wellington is to be a te reo Māori city by 2040. 2040 is significant as it marks 200 years since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the first unofficial Wellington Town Committee. It is also the milestone for Council’s strategy – Wellington Towards 2040: Smart Capital.