Winners included F.A.G.A.S.A Inc, for their work in promoting the Samoan language, the PEETO Multicultural Learning Centre, for their range of programmes which include an ESOL assessment & access specialist service, the Umma Trust, which provides social services and support for Arabic-speaking communities in Auckland, and Wellington City Libraries, for their community services including multi-lingual services and collections. For a full list of all the winners and further information about them, see the Human Rights Commission website.

Deaf community stakeholders have identified serious barriers to linguistic equality that have not been addressed by the NZSL Act 2006. The Commission has held a preliminary discussion with Deaf Aotearoa NZ and NZSL teachers and researchers at Victoria University about how progress can be achieved. Widely shared ideas include developing a NZSL strategy (or NZSL priorities) and a guiding body to oversee language planning. It is important that any plans and documents that come out of this work are led by the Deaf community.

The NZSL Act 2006 made NZSL an official language and guaranteed provision of competent interpreters in legal proceedings. It also stated that government departments should make their information and services accessible to the Deaf community. There was, however, no resourcing provided to achieve the purposes of the Act. The Act allows for a review of the legislation after three years, that is, from April 2009. To date, the government has not expressed any plans to review the Act.

The Commission will facilitate further discussions with NZSL stakeholder groups. Planning may include further documenting the Deaf community's priorities, promoting a review of the Act, and drafting a NZSL strategy. If you would like more information or to be involved in future discussions, please email Victoria Manning.

The Vocabulary Olympics are a free event run in conjunction with International Languages Week (16-22 August 2009). This year 28,501 students from 540 schools in New Zealand and Australia competed. Over the three weeks of the competition the students spent a total of 31,000 hours answering over 16 million vocabulary questions in French, German, Japanese, Indonesian, Italian, Spanish and Māori. Competition for the title of top ranking school was fierce but was eventually claimed by Otago Girl's High School who defended their title from 2008, with a 295,483 points earned by 427 students. Read the full story on the Scoop website.

English Language Partners Aoraki collected the Community Award in the Educational and Child / Youth Development category at the TrustPower Timaru District Community Awards ceremony on August 17. The TrustPower Community Awards celebrate the work of volunteers within local communities. For more information on English Language Partners visit their website or email them. For more information about the TrustPower community awards visit the TrustPower website.

The awards celebrate and recognise commitment to Māori language regeneration, and provide an opportunity to discuss, showcase and celebrate Māori language regeneration and innovation across the country. This year the awards are focussed on initiatives that demonstrate an ongoing commitment to Māori language regeneration. For more information, visit the Korero Māori website.

The National Centre for Languages UK points to a decline in the take-up of modern languages. Chief executive Kathryn Board said: "English is one of the great global languages but it will only take us so far. Our engagement with the non-English speaking world will remain superficial and one-sided unless we develop our capacity in other languages." Recent research from Cardiff Business School suggests improving languages could add an extra £21bn to the UK economy and that export businesses that use language skills boost their sales by 45%. Read the full story online.To read a commentary on the implications of this research for New Zealand, visit the Euroasia blog.

Applications for this intake closed on 11 September, but if you are interested in undertaking this training in the future, visit the Interpreting New Zealand website or contact Atena Hensch, the Interpreting Canterbury coordinator (ph. 03 372 9311).

The hui will focus on discovering views and ideas around the following two questions:

1. How might Māori language broadcasting best help Māori New Zealanders acquire Māori language skills and improve the quality of their use of Te Reo Māori?
2. How might Māori language broadcasting best assist Māori New Zealanders to speak Te Reo Māori more often and in more places?

Hui will be held on September 22 2009 at Te Kuratini Marae Massey University Campus, Mt. Cook Wellington (reply by 20 September), 24 September 2009 at Te Noho Kotahitanga Marae Unitec NZ Campus Mt Albert Auckland (reply by 22 September), and 29 September 2009 at Te Ara Tāwhaki Marae EIT Campus Taradale Hawke's Bay (reply by 27 September). Hui will run from 10.00am - 4.00pm and lunch will be provided. Register with Matthew Mullany (ph. 0275533409) or Denis O'Reilly (ph. 0274459850).

There are three workshops:

• Workshop 1: Working with English Language Learners (for Primary, Intermediate and Secondary) - presented by Janis Maidment
• Workshop 2: Making Language and Learning Work (for Primary and Intermediate) - presented by Julia Beaumont and Kay Nielsen
• Workshop 3: A Language Teacher Education resource for developing and reviewing language teaching classroom practice (for Secondary and Tertiary) - presented by Heather Richards and Karen Wise.

The evening begins at 6.15pm with refreshments and a catch up and the workshops begin at 7.00pm. For TESOLANZ members the cost is free. For non-members the cost is $10, or you can join TESOLANZ on the night for $50 for the year. For further information and to RSVP for catering purposes, and to indicate which workshop(s) you will attend, email Maree Jeurissen.

He Huia Kaimanawa includes three events:

• He Whakairinga Kupu (Māori Language Symposium)
• Ngā Whetū Koea (a showcase exhibition)
• Ngā Tohu Reo Māori 2009 (Māori Language Awards 2009).

Ngā Tohu Reo Māori are in their sixth year and celebrate innovative efforts to promote te reo Māori. Admission is free. For further information, download the brochure.

or Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2010 have been announced. Next year, Māori Language Week will be held from July 26 to August 1 2010

The Applied Linguistics Associations of New Zealand and Australia (ALANZ and ALAA) are pleased to announce that their first combined conference will be held in Auckland from December 2- 4 2009 at AUT University. The theme of the conference is 'Participation and acquisition: Exploring these metaphors in Applied Linguistics'. Keynote speakers include: Lourdes Ortega (University of Hawaii at Manoa), Cathie Elder (University of Melbourne), Tim McNamara (University of Melbourne), Gary Barkhuizen (University of Auckland). The draft programme will be available on the ALANZ website from October 2009. For further information contact Professor John Bitchener (ph.0064 9 921 9999 ext 7830).

A hui on Māori Literacy within Māori Medium Education and bi-lingual units in English Medium Education will be held at Tangatarua Marae, Waiaraiki Polytechnic, Rotorua from July 12- 16 2010. Hui participants will have the opportunity to hear Cathy Rau - one of New Zealand's foremost experts in the field of Māori medium literacy; participate in reading, writing and oral language workshops; engage with keynote speakers; and interact with current classroom practitioners. The early bird cost for the noho marae is $410, while noho ki wāhi kē is $335.00. The cost after 28 May 2010 is $510 / $435. Registrations close on 11 June 2010. For more information and to register online go to the TRCC website, email or phone them (0800 872 211).

The 'Critical Link 6' Interpreting in a Changing Landscape conference will be held on July 26- 30 2010 with the aim of bringing together representatives from all spheres of the public service interpreting community, and to examine the role of interpreters in the world. The conference will be held at Aston University (Languages and Social Sciences) in Birmingham UK, and aims to explore the political, legal, human rights, transnational, economic, socio-cultural, and sociolinguistic aspects of public service or community interpreting. The deadline for submissions of abstracts and proposals is October 31 2009. Visit the website for Aston University to download a call for papers or make an online submission.