He whakataetae tuhituhi hei whakatenatena i ngā ākonga ki te tuhi ki te reo Māori
Kua tuwhera ngā kūaha o te whakataetae tuhi kōrero poto e kīia ana ko He Huatau Auaha. Kua puta te karanga ki ngā tamariki me ngā rangatahi ki te whakaputa i ō rātou whakaaro ki roto tonu i te reo Māori, he kaupapa i whakaarahia ake hei whakapakari i te reo Māori i waenganui i tēnei hunga, puta noa i Aotearoa.
I whakarewahia tuatahitia te kaupapa nei i te tau 2013, ā, e whakahaerehia ana te kaupapa i ia rua tau e Te Ipukarea o Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makaurau (AUT) – e tuwhera ana te whakataetae ki ngā ākonga nō roto mai i ngā kura katoa o te motu, e 6 – 18 te pakeke.
E ai ki a Hēmi Kelly, kaiako reo Māori i AUT, me tū tētahi kaupapa e whakatenatena ana i te hunga tamariki, rangatahi ki te tuhi ki te reo Māori.
“He kaupapa motuhake tēnei, kāore he kaupapa i tua atu i He Huatau Auaha e aro kau ana ki ngā tamariki, e whakahaerehia katoatia ana i roto i te reo Māori,” tā Kelly.
“Me whai tonu tātou kia wātea tētahi wāhi ki ngā tamariki, rangatahi e akiaki nei i a rātou ki te whakaputa i ō rātou huatau mā roto tonu mai i te tuhituhi ki te reo taketake o tēnei whenua.”
I te tau 2014, nuku atu i te 70 ngā ākonga i tuku mai i ā rātou kōrero poto mai i ngā kura auraki, kura reorua, kura kaupapa Māori, wharekura anō hoki, puta noa i te motu. I āta tirohia ngā kōrero poto e ngā mātanga reo e toru, e Dr Wharehuia Milroy, rātou ko Dr. Tīmoti Kāretu, ko Hana O’Regan.
Kua kitea mai te pai o ā Te Ipukarea mahi whakatairanga i te reo Māori, ā, i tēnei tau kua piri mai a Huia Publishers ki te tautoko i te kaupapa nei.
“E āritatia ana Huia ki te tautoko i te whakataetae tuhi kōrero o He Huatau Auaha mā ngā ākonga,” tā Brian Morris, Kaiwhakahaere o Huia Publishers.
“He kaupapa ātaahua tēnei hei akiaki i te hunga taitamariki ki te whakawhanake i ō rātou nā pūkenga tuhituhi, i tō rātou āhei anō ki te whakapuaki i ō rātou whakaaro me ō rātou wawata ki roto i te reo Māori.”
“E kaha ana te tupu haere o te kaupapa i ia tau,” tā Kelly. “E manako ana mātou ka muia anō te kaupapa e te mahi a te tuhinga kōrero i tēnei tau.”
He nui ngā tūmomo taonga ka riro i ngā kaituhi toa o He Huatau Auaha, pēnei i te iPapa, i te pukapuka, i te pūtea hoko pukapuka, i ngā rauemi tuhituhi me ngā pūtea hoko waiata iTunes. Ka kati ngā kūaha o te whakataetae nei ki ngā tuhinga kōrero hei te 5pm, ā te Rāmere te 8 o Hōngongoi. Mō te roanga atu o ngā whakamārama, toro atu ki www.aut.ac.nz/tereocomp.
Writing competition encourages students to use te reo Māori
National creative writing competition, He Huatau Auaha, is open for entries, calling on young minds to express their thoughts and ideas wholly in te reo Māori, in a bid to ensure the language remains alive and well amongst New Zealand youth.
Launched in 2013, the bi-annual competition run by Te Ipukarea – the National Māori Language Institute at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) – is open to New Zealand school students aged six to 18 years old.
Competition co-coordinator and te reo Māori lecturer at AUT, Hēmi Kelly, says New Zealand must continue to provide a space that encourages young Māori to write in te reo Māori.
“He Huatau Auaha is the only national creative writing competition that exists that is aimed solely at school children and run entirely in te reo Māori,” explains Kelly.
“We need to maintain a forum where our tamariki and rangatahi are encouraged to express their thoughts and ideas through writing in our indigenous language.”
In 2014, the competition saw more than 70 students from mainstream schools, bi-lingual units, kura kaupapa and wharekura throughout New Zealand submit original pieces of work in te reo Māori. The entries were judged by distinguished te reo Māori experts Dr Wharehuia Milroy, Dr Tīmoti Kāretu and Hana O'Regan.
The work of Te Ipukarea in promoting te reo Māori has not gone unnoticed, and this year, the team are pleased to welcome Huia Publishers as a project sponsor.
Huia Publishers is proud to support the He Huatau Auaha creative writing competition for students,” says Brian Morris, Executive Director of Huia Publishers.
“This a great initiative that encourages young students to develop their creative writing skills and also convey their thoughts, perspectives and aspirations fully in te reo Māori.”
“It’s fantastic to see this project grow bigger and better each year it is run,” adds Kelly. “And we’re looking forward to a getting a record number of entries this year.”
There are a number of prizes up for grabs for winners of He Huatau Auaha, including iPads, educational books, book vouchers, writing resources, and iTunes music vouchers.
Deadline for entries is 5pm, on Friday 8 July 2016. For more information on eligibility criteria and how to enter, please visit: www.aut.ac.nz/tereocomp.