Greetings to you all. Firstly let me congratulate Dr Cathy Dewes from Ngati Rangitihi and Ngati Porou.
Dr Dewes was recently honoured by the Maori Language Commission, the Maori community and indeed the whole country for her focus over the years on the survival and development of te reo Maori. Cathy was presented with her award at a great celebration in Tauranga, which also recognised the Wellington Maori Language Society and Nga Tama Toa, who presented a petition to Parliament 30 years ago for the protection of the Maori language. Cathy was a part of that too.
If we were to talk about kohanga reo, kura kaupapa Maori, Maori television and radio as well as Maori trusts and waka ama, Cathy would also be referred to - such is the extent of her work. We acknowledge her for receiving this most ultimate of awards. In her speech of acceptance, Cathy spoke about the children who are products of the kohanga and kura kaupapa movements. They are living proof of the efforts and dedication people have given over the years. This is a generation who have their feet in the Maori and Pakeha worlds and are capable of interacting with national and international communities while secure in their culture.
At the moment, only 5 per cent of our children are enrolling in kura kaupapa Maori and so the question is still there - why in this day and age do many parents not want to send their children to kohanga and kura when the benefits are so apparent? All of the research tells us that if a child has their identity intact (particularly Maori identity in this instance), they will be far more settled in this world. Some say this is one of the problems we face at the moment - people do not know who they are, where they come from, their language and their culture. I will leave this thought here with you for now.
Another theme in Cathy's speech was the instruction to love our language - arohatia te reo. This particularly beautiful way to put that thought has been claimed by the Maori Language Commission's recent campaigns to raise mainstream use of te reo Maori and it is quintessentially Cathy. She says things most loved and cherished by people get the most attention, care and protection - like friends or beloved partners. What I mean to say is our language is like this - something that needs to be looked after, protected, lifted up and learned by the generations to come. If we all take the view language must be protected then the learning of its nuances will become easy.