Kokiri 20 - Te Puni Kokiri

KAUPAPA MÄTUANAU MAIHAERE MAITe Puni Kökiri welcomes Glenis Philip-Barbaraas the new Chief Executive Officer of Te TauraWhiri i te Reo Mäori.TE WIKI O TE REO MÄORIThe theme of Te Wiki o te Reo Mäori this year was“Te Mahi Kai – The Language of Food”.Kai, or food, is a very important part of any culturefrom gathering, preparing and sharing of it to showhospitality and respect for visitors.Food, and the culture and customs surrounding it,contribute to a sense of community for many peopleall over the world.‘Te Mahi Kai’ begins with sharing a meal. But thelanguage of food also includes collecting food fromthe land and sea, and traditional and contemporarypreparation methods.Throughout the week, the aim was to encourage NewZealanders to have fun learning about ‘Te Mahi Kai’and speaking the language of food at home and intheir community.It seems to have worked a treat!A vision of restoring te reo Mäori as thelanguage of communication in Mäori homeshas taken Glenis Philip-Barbara to the capitalto lead Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Mäori (theMäori Language Commission).“I applied for the role because I wasexcited by the Commission’s commitmentto maintaining te reo as the languageparents use to communicate with theirkids. Which is what I am both personallyand professionally passionate about andcommitted to,” said Ms Philip Barbara.Ms Philip-Barbara left her role as Directorof Business Development at the TairäwhitiPolytechnic in Gisborne to take up her role inWellington.Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Mäori’s chairpersonErima Henare said the Ngäti Porou academicbrought a mix of management, researchand kaupapa Mäori experience to thecommission.Ms Philip-Barbara said she believes te reoMäori is the birthright of every Mäori andshould be accessible to everyone who calledAotearoa home.Thanks to Stan Pardoe and RongowhakaataTrust for photograph permission.