The next generation opens Uike Lea Faka-Tonga 2023 celebrations
Uike Lea Faka-Tonga 2023 - Tongan Lanuage Week 2023
The theme for Uike Lea Faka-Tonga 2023 is 'E tu'uloa 'a e Lea faka-Tongá 'o ka lea'aki 'i 'api, siasí (lotú), mo e nofo-'a-kāingá, which means the Tongan Language will be sustainable if used at home, church and in the wider community.
The word TU’ULOA in the theme has a positive and progressive connotation and means to continuously grow, nurture, and sustain a valued idea, practice, event, or memory in an enduring way.
This year's theme focused on the importance of using lea faka-Tonga. It impressed on us the need not only to understand lea Faka-Tonga, but to also use it as much as possible at home, church and wider community. When you are proud of your language and can speak it, you will also be more grounded in your identity as a Tongan.
The participation of the young people in leading the celebrations with the singing of Tongan church hymns, signified the intent of the community to ensure that the next generation were central to its efforts around strengthening the lea Faka-Tonga in Aotearoa. Dr Melenaite Taumoefolau, a Tongan Language champion, in her special address, warned the next generation against complacency and taking care not to lose focus and being lulled into a false sense of security that the lea Faka-Tonga is safe for future generations.
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Hon Barbara Edmonds, in her keynote address, re-enforces the commitment of the government to the ongoing support of the Pacific language weeks and encourages everyone to participate in a range of activities being held over the Uike Lea Faka-Tonga. It is clear that language sustainability is a key focus for the lea Faka-Tonga, with over 82,000 Tongans calling New Zealand home, but only 12 percent under the age of 15 that can speak the language. Minister Edmonds says 'the statistics emphasise the need to understand lea Faka-Tonga and use it as much as possible in the home, school, church and the wider community'.
The Honourable Prime Minister Chris Hipkins Opens the Uike Lea Faka-Tonga
The Prime Minister, Rt Hon Chris Hipkins, including the Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni, the first deputy PM of Pacific Heritage, key government ministers and Labour Party MPs, were all present at the opening.
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