In June 2023, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rēhia and the Far North District Council (FNDC) signed an agreement that will enable Te Kerikeri to become the first Reorua/ Bilingual town in the Far North.
This agreement will help to develop more spaces, places and opportunities in Te Kerikeri where Te Reo Māori is seen, heard and celebrated alongside the English language.
We know that the creation of such spaces is critical to enabling a sense of belonging and wellbeing for our communities.
We also recognise the importance of working with other community groups with the same vision and aspirations.
The team from Healthy Families Far North were more than willing to jump on board this waka to support this kaupapa to come to life.
Since coming on board this waka, the Healthy Families Far North team have supported Ngāti Rēhia by co-facilitating wānanga/workshops bringing together different sectors of our community.
We felt that the first group that we should bring together were our rangatahi, as their voices are sometimes overlooked by our community.
Our rangatahi comprised of a group of students from Kerikeri High School.
The rangatahi went out into their community to understand the current context of Reorua in Te Kerikeri.
They did this by conducting mātakitaki/observations and having discussions with other rangatahi and community members.
The rangatahi focused on three key connected areas of the local town centre which they identified as the rangatahi zones of Te Kerikeri.
After their observations, the rangatahi got to unleash their creative sides and spent the afternoon re-imagining the rangatahi zone as a fully Reorua space.
They then shared their ideas to representatives from Ngāti Rēhia. Some of these observations included:
- Reorua in Te Kerikeri is already happening – but there are lots of opportunities to build on what is already there.
- Reorua is more than just signage, it is about what a place sounds like, looks like and feels like.
- Reo Māori is more than just the writing – it is about the visual representation of the reo through art.
- Translation has to go both ways, so that everyone is on the same page and feel comfortable.
The rangatahi have created a strong platform for the Reorua strategy to progress as it builds momentum across all parts of Te Kerikeri community.
It is important to emphasize that initiatives like these are not just for the present moment but are investments in the future.
When we do stuff like this, we don’t do it for today, we do it for tomorrow.”
