Te Vaiaho o te Gana Tokelau – Tokelau language week, wraps up the ninth and final Pacific language celebrations for 2021. This year’s theme is: Tapui tau gagana ma tau aganuku, i te manaola ma te lautupuola – Tokelau! Preserve your language and culture, to enhance spiritual and physical well being.
Celebrations kicked off this afternoon online due to the ongoing COVID-19 lock downs in parts of New Zealand.
The Tokelau language has been designated ‘severely endangered’ by UNESCO, its second-most at-risk category. The most recent census records 8,676 Tokelauans living in Aotearoa New Zealand, almost half of those in the Whanganui-a-Tara region.
This year marks 73 years since Tokelau became part of the New Zealand realm.
NZ Tokelau Language Week – Facebook page
Image credit: Ministry for Pacific Peoples/NZ Government