about us

Malo le soifua, Malo e lelei, Kia orana, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Ni sa bula vinaka, Fakatalofa atu, Mālo ni, Noaˈia ˈe mḁuri, Kam na mauri, Kia ora

Our team are blessed to work in the space of strengthening identity. We help students get to know, understand, and use heritage Pacific languages to participate in ancient cultural protocols and activities in a culturally authentic way, drawing on the language required and using it for everyday communication.

What We Do

Language and culture are inextricably connected, and culture is deeply understood within the language it embodies. By revitalising Pacific languages now, we can protect and sustain our cultures as we head towards the future.

At the Centre for Pacific Languages, we provide:

free language courses for Pacific communities,
cultural competency workshops for corporations and businesses, and
translation services for clients in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Pacific and around the world.

We have a strong sense of responsibility and a resolute purpose in supporting the restoration of Pacific people’s identities, languages and cultures through our advocacy work. We are focused on sustaining and revitalising the languages and cultures represented in our logo.

We are tautai or wayfinders, helping people recover their past, strengthen their present, and envision their future through the restoration of their languages, cultures and identities.

Our People

The Centre for Pacific Languages has been serving Pacific communities in Aotearoa for over 40 years. Our genesis began in 1978 when we opened as the Pacific Island Education Resource Centre (PIERC Education). PIERC rebranded to Pasifika Education Centre (PEC) in 2014, and in 2022 became the Centre for Pacific Languages.

CPL is led by a dedicated and passionate team who are here to support our communities on their journeys to revitalise, strengthen and maintain their heritage languages.

We offer a small, curated range of quality language resources via our online bookstore to support students on their language learning journeys. We advocate for the use of Pacific languages in Aotearoa, including providing professional translation services. We also offer bespoke corporate Professional Development Workshops to help organisations develop cultural competency.

We are a not-for profit (with charitable status), a non-Government Organisation (NGO) and we offer corporate services.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Centre for Pacific Languages also offers professional services in:

Pacific Language translation services
We translate Sāmoan, Tongan, vagahau Niue, Cook Islands Māori, Fijian, Rotuman, Tuvaluan, Tokelauan, Kiribati, and some dialects in PNG. We also have extensive experience working with international clients and for the New Zealand government’s COVID-19 response.

Koloa corporate workshops
Our bespoke cultural competency workshops for the NZ workplace focus in on how to how to effectively engage your Pasifika employees and customers. Workshops are tailored for the organisation, and can also include one-on-one or small group language tutoring.

Online bookshop
Our online store offers a curated selection of Pacific language resources to support language learning.

PRIVATE TRAINING ESTABLISHMENT (PTE)
Nationally, we operate an NZQA Registered Private Training Establishment (PTE) offering NZQA Approved courses which we deliver as part-time FREE community Pacific language short, 10 week courses in Sāmoan (gagana Sāmoa), Cook Islands Māori (te reo Māori Kuki ‘Āirani), Vagahau Niue, Tongan (Lea Faka-Tonga), Fijian (Vosa Vakaviti) and Rotuman (Fäeag Rotuḁm). These courses are taught online and run for 10 weeks.

ADVOCACY
CPL is a lead organisation when it comes to promoting activities that position the important role of Pacific languages and cultures here in Aotearoa.We contribute to government policy development and adoption, local and regional action plans, and support bilingual education provision. CPL is also leading a number of innovation projects that support digital and online learning.

Meet The Team