"We want our participants to go out into the workplace and into their communities feeling
comfortable to engage in te reo and te Ao Māori."
The course offers a blend of flexible kanohi ki te kanohi (face-to-face) delivery and online support resources.
The kaiako (teachers) are specifically appointed from the different regions to ensure
the appropriate dialects are delivered.
"It's all about learning the different contexts of the language as an expression of mana tangata, mana whenua and mana ao turoa, and developing this emerging respect for te reo Māori as an expression of mana reo," Kerekere said.
Police Area Commander for the Eastern Bay of Plenty Inspector Stu Nightingale was one of the first to sign up.
"This course is instrumental in helping our people to understand te ao Māori and how our
police values align," Nightingale said.
The principles of whanaungatanga (connection), manaakitanga (respect) and kotahitanga
(unity), were the drivers behind learning te reo Māori for him and his team.
"We are committed to improving relationships with Māori across the Eastern Bay of Plenty,
so it's critical that we make the effort to learn a language that many members of our local community speak," he said.
"Being able to pronounce names and places properly, for example, shows respect in how we interact with our communities."
Eastern Bay of Plenty Police Pouwhakataki (Iwi liaison co-ordinator) Joshua Kalan said with a high number of native speakers of Te Reo Māori in Mataatua, it made sense to learn the language.
"Being able to start this journey together is something really special," he said.
Te Whare Wānanga Awanuiārangi introduced the programme 18 months ago and has since hosted more than 30 tailored Te Pōkaitahi Reo courses in the corporate, health, education and community sectors.
National programme co-ordinator Kelly Henare said the uptake has been fantastic.
She encouraged any organisation wanting to build te reo Māori capabilities of their staff to consider this as a professional development opportunity.
