Pacific Language Weeks

Pacific Language Weeks

6 October 2023

Learning our home language is part of our identity and provides us with a sense of belonging. At Nurtured at Home, we celebrate children's home languages as we recognise the importance of keeping a culture's language alive and visible. Earlier this year we have celebrated the language weeks of Rotuman, Samoa, Kiribati, Cook Islands, and Tonga.

During October, we look forward to the following language weeks:

Tuvalu 1-7 October

Fiji 8-14 October

Niue 15-21 October

Tokelau 22-28 October

History of Pacific Language Weeks

Pacific languages are a key cornerstone for the health and wellbeing of Pacific people. History shows us that a loss of language leads to a loss of culture and identity. 

Language Week celebrations had their origins in Samoa in 2007 with Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa, founded by Fa’alapotopotoga mo le A’oa’oina o le Gagana Samoa i Aotearoa (FAGASA). In 2009, the Human Rights Commission came on board to support the communities and the concept of Pacific Language Weeks was born.

Since 2010, the Ministry for Pacific Peoples has been supporting Pacific Language Weeks, promoting and raising awareness of the diversity of our Pacific languages in Aotearoa. Each year, the Ministry works closely with Pacific communities to maintain and promote indigenous languages across the country, encouraging their use in our daily lives to help them thrive.

While each language is highlighted with a dedicated ‘week’ of activities, each event is actually a year-long celebration of the languages, with extended activities throughout the year. These activities and language learning initiatives are led by our Pacific communities throughout Aotearoa and supported by the Ministry.

Information from https://www.mpp.govt.nz/programmes/pacific-language-weeks/