Shake-up for Māori language funding

9:42 am on 19 August 2015

The Māori Language Commission has changed its registration and application process for this year's round of Mā Te Reo funding.

Maori classroom.

Mā Te Reo funding is now going online. Photo: RNZ / Tom Furley

The changes mean that any individual, group, marae, hapū or whānau seeking funding must now use the new online system, Pūnaha Pūtea, which is available on the commission's website.

Mā Te Reo funding opened at the start of Māori language week on July the 27th and is for anyone wanting to deliver Te Reo revitalisation programmes.

Te Taura Whiri spokesperson Mere-Heeni Simcock-Reweti said the new method means the process will be more efficient, and because it is computer based, it will cut out all of the paper work.

"The application process previously was quite comprehensive, you had to provide a whole heap of documentation to support your application," she said.

"What we've done this year is we've taken the key bits of documentation requirements out of the application process and put that up front in the registration."

Ms Simcock-Reweti said the whole aim of the new process was to make it more user-friendly.

"One of the great things you can do this year is you'll get to a stage in your application where you might need to think about a few things or consult with other people before you submit it.

"You can take a break and suspend your application and come back to it at a later stage."

Ms Simock-Reweti, of Ngāti Porou descent, said if applicants want to ensure they are successful, they will need to demonstrate that they are collaborating with other groups or other initiatives.

She said another criteria applications will assessed on is whether a Māori language project will bring about awareness of revitalisation regeneration initiatives.

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori will be giving out between $1.8 and $2.5 million worth of funding this year.

Applications close at the beginning of September and Te Taura Whiri will be notifying successful applicants by the beginning of December.

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