Tihei: Normalising te reo Māori and sharing our culture

Karetai Williams-Paul

In 2021, Kauwaka Limited was engaged by Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc to deliver "Te Ahu o te Reo Māori" on behalf of the iwi.

Te Ahu o te Reo Māori is a Government initiative. The Ministry of Education has partnered with te reo Māori providers to deliver this initiative.

"Te Ahu o te Reo Māori" means the future pathway of te reo Māori – a pathway that seeks to inspire and aspire for improved te reo Māori proficiency, acquisition and use across the education sector. It also provides opportunities for te reo Māori to be normalised, and Māori identity and culture to be shared and embraced.

Kauwaka Limited is one of the Māori providers that is delivering Te Ahu o te Reo Māori across the Te Matau a Māui and Tairāwhiti regions. The name of the programme is Te Toka Tūroa.

Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc supports Kauwaka Limited's ability to deliver the Te Ahu o te Reo programmes to a high standard and achieve the goals of the iwi, which embody the vision of Kahungunu, kia eke!

Kauwaka has employed te reo Māori experts who are graduates of the Kahungunu Kura Reo programmes that have been run by the iwi.

"It is a pleasure to see our reo experts lead this work by example and I look forward to our future collective mahi with excitement," says Chrissie Hape, chief executive of Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc.

Founded by Dr Jeremy Tātere MacLeod, Kauwaka Limited is based above Radio Kahungunu on Heretaunga St West in Hastings.

PROFILING THE TEAM AT KAUWAKA LIMITED

Introducing Karetai Williams-Paul

1. Ko wai koe, nō hea koe? Who are you and where are you from?

Ko Karetai Williams: Paul tōku ingoa. No nga iwi o Te Rarawa me Raukawa ahau.

2. What have you been up to in the past?

Over the past few years, I have been traveling overseas playing rugby. Although the footy was cool, I travelled to see the world. It was such an amazing experience being a part of different cultures and living among so much history that we only see on TV. From drinking the traditional Vietnamese coffee in Halong Bay, eating pizza outside the Vatican City, testing the tastebuds with black pudding in Edinburgh to enjoying a stein at a beer festival in Munich. The world has influenced a new perspective on my life.

3. What do you like about the mahi you do?

I am currently developing educational applications for Māori business. These platforms are simple, user-friendly and easily accessible to their audience. I love my mahi because I get to be a tutu and truly test my creativity. I feel the technology space is the future of mātauranga Māori. Digitising our resources so that they are accessible through the devices that consume our daily attention. Web 3.0 and the Metaverse are here and I hope that my mahi inspires the next generation to enter this space. Māori in technology.

4. What are your goals and aspirations for your people?

I hope more of our people can come together and work through today's challenges and contribute to the outcomes we need for the times of our mokopuna. What does the world look like through their eyes? What can we do today to shape the world they see?

5. Any other general comments, kōrero, messages that you want to include?

Acknowledge the past, value the present and create the future. There is so much mamae in our whakapapa but that continues to shadow the mahi that our champions have done to shape today's world for Māori. He pātai tāku ki te whānau. What is your contribution to our kaupapa? You don't have to move mountains and you don't have to have it all figured out today. Take a small step each day in the right direction and sooner or later it will appear.