Te Reo Māori is considered one of New Zealand's three official languages, and yet only 4% of the population are able to hold a conversation in it. As the indigenous language of New Zealand it is taught to some degree in schools, but language lessons largely drop off by the time students reach college or high school level.
There are many reasons why people are discouraged to speak Te Reo, including access to classes, feeling uncomfortable speaking a language outside their culture, or finding it irrelevant to their lives. However Māori language and culture does form a significant part of the make-up of the general Kiwi/New Zealand culture, to the point where many Kiwis are familiar with some Māori phrases and vocab, and often use it in a familiar way.
As a team we wanted to encourage New Zealanders to become more familiar with Māori words and to speak Te Reo in their everyday lives. Our approach was a campaign called Let's Kōrero, which centered on a portable pop-up exhibit and games stand that could be taken to parks, universities and schools. Our objective was to make Let's Kōrero fun, interactive, and inclusive.
The Let's Kōrero campaign consisted of print advertising, a website, social media accounts, a cafe competition, and lots of games! The campaign draws quite extensively on Kiwi culture, our sense of humour and identity.
Logo
'Kōrero' means 'talk' in Te Reo Māori (Māori language). So 'Let's Kōrero' translates to 'Let's Talk!'
Posters
One of the hardest parts of speaking any new language is pronounciation. Te Reo is no exception. These posters are designed to catch the eye and to encourage passers-by to speak the words, which are actually the phonetics for a Māori word, shown below. Kids (and some adults) are going to have particular fun with this aspect of the campaign.
Website
A key touchpoint for our campaign - the website offers important information about the project, as well as links to social media accounts and options to hire Let's Kōrero for schools and universities.
Games
Te Reo Scrabble + cootie catcher + letter tile games to name a few. They would be set up at the pop-up event to encourage people from all walks of life to play a game and give Te Reo a go.
Te Reo Memory
A selection of cards
Potential set-up for pop-up event
1 - banners
2 - Table for information and games
3 - stackable exhibition/game (holds everyday items that kids can play with and name in Te Reo)
Cafe competition
Order coffee in Te Reo - to encourage people to use it whenever, wherever.
Want to find out more information about Te Reo?
Visit Kōrero Māori for language lessons, Māori myths and more!
Ko te reo te tāhuhu o tēnei whare.
Then language is the ridgepole of this house.
Aroha nui!
