Malo e lelei: Tongan Language Week puts focus on family values

Tongans make up the third largest Pacific community in New Zealand. Photo / Michael Craig

Family values and the importance of maintaining them are at the forefront of this year's Tongan Language Week.

A special event will be held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum tomorrow, that will include a speech from Minister for Pacific Peoples Alfred Ngaro, and other dignitaries.

However, the official Tongan Language Week starts on Sunday and runs through to next Saturday, September 9.

This year's theme - Enriching Aotearoa with our family values - puts a spotlight on much of what is important in Tongan and Pacific culture: Family, cultural protocol and the need to keep those strong within families living in New Zealand.

Among those values are the importance of faith and church, cultural activities and connectedness as well as involvement within other parts of the community and wider New Zealand society.

Census figures in 2013 showed Tongan was the seventh most spoken language in Auckland, with 23,088 people able to speak the Pacific language.

Tongan speakers come behind English, Samoan, Hindi, Northern Chinese, te reo Maori and Yue, which includes Cantonese.

The Ministry for Pacific Peoples has released a number of events to be held around the country throughout the week.

Mālō e lelei. Our beautiful Tongan Language Week poster. Theme for this year focuses on enriching our family values! Talamonū atu! #TLW2017 pic.twitter.com/KryxvFu1BU

— Ministry for Pacific Peoples (@Pacific_Peoples) August 28, 2017

They include Tongan language workshops for children and adults alike, arts and crafts sessions, Tongan-language speech competitions, and art exhibitions.

For the full programme of events, visit: Tongan Language Week 2017