Te Wānanga o Aotearoa

Kia tōnui te reo Māori: Prosperous whānau, prosperous reo Māori, examines the

conditions that support the growth, use, and intergenerational transmission of te reo Māori across whānau and communities in Aotearoa. The project focuses on four interconnected areas: te reo o te kāinga-Māori language use in the home, the role of social and community relationships, effective language acquisition processes, and the development of practical resources to support reo Māori revitalisation.

Preliminary findings highlight that te reo o te kāinga, me te reo o te hapori is strongly influenced by a combination of factors. These include supportive whānau environments, access to Kaupapa-Māori education (an aspect highly limited in some hapori), strong social networks where te reo is normalised (including kaupapa that bring whānau with shared interests together), and opportunities to use the language in meaningful, low-pressure contexts. Our research also reinforces the importance of addressing broader structural conditions, such as economic stability, time availability, and experiences of racism, all of which continue to have an impact on prospective reo learners, active learners, and users of te reo.

Our early findings indicate that te reo tuku iho is most possible when whānau are supported not only with language learning tools, but also with strategies that strengthen relationships, reduce anxiety, and create sustainable language practices in everyday life. We also note the importance of friendships in helping to sustain te reo across contexts.

Universities in Aotearoa hold a vast, largely unmapped, collection of Māori data. With that, these institutions are in positions of power to control the ways in which Māori data is collected, stored, accessed and used, often without meaningful involvement from Māori communities. Organised across three objectives, this project explores how Māori data governance can be strengthened within academic policy and institutional contexts in ways which give effect to Māori Data Sovereignty for Māori hāpori, hapū and iwi.

The first objective investigates the potential for Machine Learning to identify and locate Māori research data held within universities.

Objective two examines existing approaches to Māori data governance within a university context and identifies opportunities to bring institutional policies and practices into alignment with Te Kāhui Raraunga's Māori Data Governance Model.

The third objective focuses on the relationships between Māori rightsholders and their data, exploring how Māori aspirations for MDSov can be at the centre of all decision-making.

Street design in Aotearoa has had limited involvement from iwi, hapū and Māori hāpori to date and yet streets are everywhere, they connect us to each other, they are communication channels and spaces and places to engage with others. What then might a Māori street look and feel like?

What are some of the psychological, emotional and spiritual influences that learners have experienced when learning te reo Māori?

How are these influences related to past trauma or negative experiences of theirs (or others) and in what ways have these influences impacted their engagement with and learning of te reo Māori?