Araraurangi (Air New Zealand) is inviting Kiwis to join them in helping the Māori language fly, by sharing its Kia Rere app with the public, just in time for te Wiki o te reo Māori.
The app, created by Air New Zealand in partnership with NZ Māori Tourism and produced by Kiwa Digital, has been available for staff to practice and improve their reo.
It has a range of interactive features including audio learning and the ability to create a mihimihi and share the user's journey in te reo Māori.
Cultural development manager Henare Johnson says this app is a culmination of many people’s work to help te reo beginners feel confident with pronunciation and expand their MƒÅ¬Åori language vocabulary.
"Araraurangi is a huge supporter of Māori culture and encourages sharing the culture through the use of te reo. We wanted to create an app to help our people on their te reo journey and at the same time give Aotearoa the opportunity to learn and feel comfortable using te reo with us.
"I would consider we are still very much at the start, but this is a really exciting step, in our cultural journey to share te reo Māori with each other and our customers. This is a huge part of how we manaaki (care for) te reo Māori at Air New Zealand.
"We’re so proud to fly with the language under the Mang≈ç¬çpare – the symbol on the tail of all our aircraft – and we want to share that pride with the rest of Aotearoa. Whether you want to learn the te reo National Anthem, fine tune your pronunciation of place names or prepare a mihi, the Kia Rere app can support you on your journey."
Kia Rere references a longer kōrero by Tū Tīmoti Kāretu; "ko te reo kia tika, ko te reo kia rere, ko te reo kia Māori," the language needs to be correct, the language needs to be heard far and wide, the language needs to be Māori in ethos.
Kia rere is ready to download in the App Store and on Google Play.
