Out of 356 applications received, 164 were approved funding and 192 were declined.  As you were informed in the letter that went out to applicants, many quality applications were declined this Round simply due to over-subscription to the Fund. Mā Te Reo thanks all applicants for their submissions and encourages everyone to keep applying. Some providers who have accessed Mā Te Reo funding over a number of rounds missed out this time, while others who have been unsuccessful before, were offered funding this time around. We apologise to those of you who received the letter offering funding belatedly and for the general delay in getting contracts out. It was our intention to bring in an external contractor to provide extra capacity with the drafting of contracts this Round, but unfortunately our plans fell through and the team had to draft all the contracts internally. The delay in getting contracts out will definitely be addressed prior to the 2008 funding round. As you read this ī-pānui Round Seven projects are getting underway as contract negotiations are completed and applicants sign and return their contracts and other documentation to us. While we allow four weeks for you to return your contracts to Mā Te Reo, we urge you to send them in earlier if possible as this speeds things up at our end and enables you to get started on your project much sooner.

Mā Te Reo Supporting Māori Language in the Home and Intergenerational Transmission

While we still need to undertake a full analysis of all applications received this Round, we are delighted to see a number of innovative projects put forward to support Māori language use in homes and the intergenerational transmission of the language. We hope to provide a full profile of some of the following projects in upcoming issues:

There are currently 46 live projects for this Round, a reduction of 18 since the June issue. Clayton continues to work with the co-ordinators of these projects. If you are one of these providers, please make sure he knows what the status of your project is. Details of the recipients of Mā Te Reo funding in 2006 are being published in the Kōanga issue of He Muka. If you are not already on the mailing list and would like to be, please contact Conrad Noema, conrad@tetaurawhiri.govt.nz

There are currently 18 live projects for this Round, a reduction of 4 since the June issue. Nerissa is following up with the co-ordinators of these projects. If you are one of these providers, please make sure she knows what the status of your project is.

There are 2 live projects remaining for this Round. Nerissa is following up with the co-ordinators of these projects. If you are one of these providers, please make sure she knows what the status of your project is.

As Round Seven contracting comes to an end and before the team starts planning and preparing for the 2008 funding round, a new series of monitoring and promotional visits is being planned. We have already received requests to visit Wairoa and the Manawatu to talk to interested groups about Mā Te Reo. If you would like a visit from Mā Te Reo to your region please contact us. The regions for monitoring visits are yet to be finalised but if you’ve got a project underway which you’d really like Mā Te Reo to see in action around November 2007 - March 2008, now’s a good time to contact us so we can try and schedule a visit in.

The following article was supplied by Charisma Rangipunga of Ake Associates Ltd who were contracted by Mā Te Reo to deliver the Kura Reo ki te Waipounamu 2007. The Kura Reo was held at the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology from 10 -15 April 2007. It is one of four Kura Reo -Whakapakari Reo that Mā Te Reo has been funding in recent years.

I ikapahi atu te marea e hiakai ana ki te reo Māori ki te Kura Reo i tū ki te Puna Wānaka i Ōtautahi i te marama o Kai te Haere o tēnei tau. Kātahi nā te pai kia rongo i tō tātou reo rangatira i pāorooro atu ana i ngā pakitara o te whare rā. 120 te tokomaha i tae ā tinana atu ki te hui nei. Ongeonge ana te kite atu i tētahi atu hui pēnei i Te Waipounamu mō tō tātou nei reo. I tū te hui mō te kotahi wiki, ā, ko Tīmoti Kāretu tērā, te ringa mākohakoha, i ārahi atu i te kāhui pouako i tae mai ki te hui. I rangitāmiro atu ēnei e ngaio ana ki te reo kia whāngai atu i ō rātou mātauranga ki te minenga. Kātahi nā te whakaaro rangatira ko tērā. Tēnei te mihi atu ki a rātou nā ngā pouako, koutou ngā pou o tēnei tino kaupapa, mei kore koutou, ka kore rawa tēnei kaupapa e tutuki, e haumāuiui. Nā reira tēnei o tētahi o ngā pia o te reo e mihi kau atu ana ki a koutou katoa. Me mihi atu hoki ki a Mā Te Reo mō ngā pūtea e tautoko ana i tēnei tino kaupapa ki a mātou o te tonga. Kai te mihi rawa atu!!!

Ana Tapiata interviewed members of Ngutunui for the following article.

Ngutunui are a bunch of drama queens… and kings! Based in the Hawkes Bay, this voluntary group of writers, actors, singers and production crew put on a Māori language play during Māori language week. Their show, Nanekoti Nanakia, ran at Waipatu and Ōmāhu Marae. Hundreds of children and their whānau cheered, chuckled and clapped their way through the story about Hori, a boy who was so naughty that he was sent to live with his koro on a farm. Whilst there, Hori gets to know Haruru and Marilyn (the two cows), Poaka (the pig) and of course Māro, the goat that bullies everyone. As they battle for supremacy, Hori realises that he has much in common with Maro and, in the end, both agree to change their unruly ways. With lots of finger-tapping, foot stomping songs, the play’s finale is based on the whakataukī ‘He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.’

Participants watching Nanekoti Nanakia

“Drama is a fun and entertaining way to share te reo Māori - and it works with both learners and fluent speakers” says writer, Chelsea White. It is an opinion echoed by everyone in the troupe. Director Puti Lancaster says the support from Mā Te Reo has been great. “We have received funding for the last four productions and the team has always been helpful and easy to work with. My advice is to get your reports in on time and spend the money how you said you would.”

The production in action

The first phase of the outcomes evaluation project has been completed. A report has been written based on this phase, and we are now currently tendering for proposals from any organisations who would be interested in undertaking the second phase of this evaluation. If anyone is interested, you can download the request for proposals documents from the GETS website www.gets.govt.nz. The closing date for these proposals ends on Friday 2 November 2007 and we anticipate that the successful applicant will commence the second phase of the evaluation at the beginning of December.

If anyone has any general questions relating to this evaluation, please do not hesitate to contact Nerissa Aramakutu at nerissa@tetaurawhiri.govt.nz

A decision has been made by Mā Te Reo to phase out the practice of pre-assessed applications over the next two funding Rounds. A habit of allowing some applications, usually Matariki based events, to be assessed outside of the group assessment process has crept into practice over recent years. However, this is not good practice as it could be seen to give those applications pre-assessed an advantage. Groups therefore have two years to organise themselves so that if they have an event being held June - August, they get into a new cycle of applying in the previous Round for the year ahead.

Māori Language Week Awards

The three finalists in the Community category for this year's Māori Language Week Awards are all past or present Mā Te Reo providers! They were:

• Raukawa Māori Trust Board, Tokoroa
• Te Matahauāriki o Tauranga Moana Inc., Tauranga
• Te Waipuna Puawai Mercy Oasis Ltd, Auckland

Congratulations to all three groups. We are also pleased to confirm that Te Matahauāriki o Tauranga Moana Inc., Tauranga won the community category this year!

Repeated again for your information, your key Mā Te Reo contact people and our direct dial numbers are:

Jasmine Cooper
Project Manger
04 471 - 6727
jasmine@tetaurawhiri.govt.nz

Nerissa Aramakutu
Project Advisor (Monitoring and Evaluation)
04 471 - 6728
nerissa@tetaurawhiri.govt.nz

Clayton Reiri
Project Advisor
04 471 - 6733
clayton@tetaurawhiri.govt.nz

Juanita Teepa
Project Administrator
04 471 - 6737
juanita@tetaurawhiri.govt.nz