New Zealanders will set a record this Māori Language Week as more than 200,000 people are already signed up to celebrate te reo as part of the country's first, virtual Māori Language Moment on Monday 14 September at 12pm.

Hei Te Wiki o te Reo Māori nei, he tuatahitanga ka tutuki i ngā tāngata o Aotearoa nā te mea kei tua atu i te 200,000 te tokomaha kua tuku i ā rātou ingoa ki te whakanui i te reo hei wāhanga mā tā te motu Wā Tuku Reo Māori ā-hangarau tuatahi ka rere hei te 12 karaka o te ahiahi o Mane, te 14 o Hepetema.

"We weren't going to let COVID-19 stop us from bringing people together to celebrate te reo so instead of cancelling events, we went hard and decided to bring more people together than ever before," says Professor Rawinia Higgins, Māori Language Commissioner.

Hei tā te Toihau o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, hei tā Ahorangi Rawinia Higgins, "Kāore mātou e tuku ana mā KOWHEORI-19 e aukati tā mÄtou whakakao i ngā tāngata ki te whakanui i te reo, nā reira i kaha tā mātou whai, tā mātou whakatau hoki kia tokomaha ake te hunga ka whakakaohia i te tokomaha kua kitea ā mohoa nei."

"We are humbled and excited to see people from across Aotearoa - from our smallest towns to our largest cities, multinational companies, cafes, schools and kāhanga - choosing to join us for a moment to celebrate te reo. Friends and whānau overseas are also joining us."

"E ngākau whakaiti ana, e hiamo ana hoki mātou i te kitenga i ngā tāngata puta noa i Aotearoa - i ā tātou tāone iti katoa ki ngā tāone nui katoa, i ngā pakihi he whare ā rātou i te ao whānui, i ngā whare kawhe, i ngā kura me ngā kāhanga - e whakatau ana ki te whai i a mātou mā tātahi wā ki te whakanui i te reo. Kei te piri mai hoki ngā hoa me ngā whānau o tāwāhi."

The Māori Language Moment | Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori is part of the Māori Language Commission's plan to get one million people speaking, singing and celebrating te reo at the same time. The commission will host a Zui Mano - a Zoom meeting with 1000 attendees - for its own Māori Language Moment

Ko Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori tātahi wāhanga o tā Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori whai kia 1 miriona ngā tāngata e kārero ana, e waiata ana, e whakanui ana hoki i te reo i te wā kotahi. Ka whakatā hoki te kāmihana i tātahi Zui Mano - he hui 1000 nei āna tāngata mā Zoom - i tāna ake Wā Tuku Reo Māori.

"To safeguard te reo we want 1 million Māori language speakers by 2040 but we want to start in 2020: even if only for a moment."

"Hei haumaru i te reo, e pārangi ana mātou kia 1 miriona ngā kaikārero reo Māori i mua i te 2040, engari e pārangi ana mātou kia tāmata i te tau 2020: ahakoa mā tāna wā noa iho nei," te kāa Ahorangi Higgins.

"Those 200,000 people who have already signed up on our website https://tuku.reomaori.co.nz/ are sharing why they are joining us and what they will be doing. People's reasons for joining reveal they want to see a future where te reo is a normal part of their family, community and country."

"Ko aua tāngata e 200,000 kua tuku kā i ā rātou ingoa ki tā mātou pae tukutuku, ki https://tuku.reomaori.co.nz/, kei te whakamāhio mai i ngā take e piri mai ana rātou ki a mātou, i ngā mahi hoki ka mahia e rātou. E whakaatuhia ana i ngā take e piri mai ana ngā tāngata tā rātou pārangi ki tātahi anamata ko te reo Māori tātahi āhuatanga hanga noa i ā rātou whānau, i te hapori me te motu."

A Colmar Brunton poll commissioned in 2019 revealed 8 in 10 New Zealanders see te reo as part of their national identity.

I tātahi pāti a Colmar Brunton, i tonoa r ā i te tau 2019, i whakaatuhia ko te 8 o te 10 o ngā tāngata o Aotearoa e whakaae ana ko te reo tātahi wāhanga o ā rātou tuakiritanga ā-motu.

"While te reo Māori remains an endangered language the support for it is strong: we are intent on helping to turn those supporters into speakers," says Professor Higgins.

"Ahakoa e tata wharengaro tonu ana te reo Māori, e kaha ana te tautoko kia ora ia: e waweruka ana mātou kia hurihia aua kaitautoko hei kaikārero," te kāa Ahorangi Higgins.

A Māori language hub - www.reomaori.co.nz - was also launched this week. At its heart is an online events calendar where people can upload and download events happening online, on land and overseas.

I tānei wiki hoki, ka whakatā ria tātahi pātahi reo Māori - www.reomaori.co.nz. Kei tāna iho ko tātahi maramataka mā ngā kaupapa ā-ipurangi hei uta atu, hei uta mai rānei i ngā kaupapa e rere ana i te ipurangi, i te whenua, i tāwāhi anā hoki.

Download Te Wiki o te reo Māori 2020 graphics here: https://www.reomaori.co.nz/rauemi/