Vaiaso o le Gagana Sāmoa – Samoan Language Week

SLW 300x154 Vaiaso o le Gagana Sāmoa Samoan Language Week Samoan Language Week is a collaboration via the NZ Diversity Action Programme by the NZ Human Rights Commission, FAGASA Inc (Faalapotopotonga mo le Aoaoina o le Gagana Samoa i Aotearoa) and their partners Pasifika Education Centre Trust, Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs and NZ National Commission for UNESCO.

Samoan Language Week will take place from Sunday 27 May to Saturday 2 June, starting with launch events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and Samoan Independence Day commemorations planned for the weekend of 2-3 June (Queen’s Birthday weekend).

This year’s theme is “O le Vāfealoa’i”  “Strong and Respectful Relationships”.

2012 is also the 50th anniversary of Samoa Independence and separately New Zealand’s continuing relations with Samoa through the signing of the Treaty of Friendship.  Both these anniversaries will be celebrated during 2012 with particular attention on Samoa Independence Day 1 June and the signing of the Treaty of Friendship 1 August.  See the Samoa 2012 website.

Samoan Language Week was first promoted by Radio Niu FM as part of a series of Pacific language weeks leading up to Māori Language Week. Since 2007 it has been promoted in schools by the Association for the Teaching of Samoa in Aotearoa, FAGASA Inc , Faalapotopotonga mo le Aoaoina o le Gagana Samoa i Aotearoa. From 2009 FAGASA and the Human Rights Commission have partnered with other organisations to extend the week to the wider New Zealand community.  The language week is now celebrated in NZ, Australia and the USA as well as Samoan communities worldwide.

Samoan Language Week also has a very active Facebook page with over 5,000 participants worldwide.

The aims of Samoan Language Week 2012 are to:

  • Celebrate the Samoan language and culture in New Zealand and globally
  • Promote the teaching and learning of the Samoan language
  • Raise awareness of the Samoan language as one of the most widely spoken languages in New Zealand
  • Promote the use of the Samoan language in every environment respecting each other’s situation – strong and respectful relationships
  • Promote initiatives to maintain and grow the recognition, learning and use of the Samoan language in the home, in education, at work, in government, in the media, in sport, in the arts, in the church and in the community.

Initial Samoan Language week partners for 2012 are FAGASA, the Human Rights Commission, the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, and the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs.  Other partners will be added once they confirm their involvement.

Families, early childhood centres, schools and tertiary education institutions, government departments, city councils, libraries, employers and unions, media, churches and community groups are all encouraged to undertake activities in support of Samoan Language Week. You are invited to register your activity by emailing nzdiversity@hrc.co.nz so that it can be published on the website and promoted as part of the week’s activities.

There are over 130,000 Samoan New Zealanders. The Samoan community is the fourth largest ethnic community after NZ Europeans (2,381,000), Māori (565,000), and Chinese (147,000). The Samoan language is the third most commonly spoken language in New Zealand after English and Māori.

Samoan Language Week is an opportunity to celebrate the Samoan language in New Zealand, to recognise the language and culture of Samoan New Zealanders, to build bridges between cultures and to ensure that the language continues to be used widely in New Zealand in the future.

The Human Rights Commission and FAGASA Inc and its partners coordinate events and activities via the NZ Diversity Action Programme Samoan Language Week website, Samoan Language Week Facebook page and Samoa 2012.

 

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