Children and young people are accepted, respected and connected
The Ministry for Pacific Peoples has launched a Pacific Languages Innovation Fund Pilot to support Pacific communities that are leading initiatives that celebrate and increase awareness of Pacific languages, help grow the number of speakers of Pacific languages, and help ensure Pacific languages are recognised and valued. To support this, it has established a Pacific Languages Unit and advisory group (Fono Faufautua).
It also hosted fono that brought together local, regional and international languages, culture and identity experts and researchers, and linguists. The purpose of the fono was to share innovative ideas and best practice strategies on language revitalisation and maintenance, and to identify ways technology and innovation may assist the survival of Pacific languages.
Funding has supported over 200 community-based language initiatives across Aotearoa.
Initial work is underway to develop a Pacific Languages Strategy and Action Plan (2021-2031) to coordinate approaches. This is due to be launched in mid-2021.