Friday 18 June 2021
By Tonisha Rohe
“Celebrating te reo Māori through play”, is the kaupapa of a new board game, aptly named Kaupapa. The brainchild of the Kura Rēhia initiative, Kaupapa helps people learn and use Te Reo Māori as they play along. Kura Rēhia co-founders Kuruho Wereta and Rosie Remmerswaal launched Kaupapa this year and say the game can be played by anyone, regardless of their fluency in Te Reo Māori.
Kuruho Wereta and Rosie Remmerswaal Photo supplied by Kura Rēhia.
“Ko te kēmu he pai mō te hunga e hiahia ana kia whakapakari i tō rātou reo Māori, ki te hiahia koe ki te ako i te reo Māori, tērā pea he tauhou ki te reo,” Kuruho Wereta says.
Kura Rēhia believes that engaging with te reo Māori in a fun and playful way removes the fear that often comes with learning te reo Māori which has been expressed anecdotally over the years. Remmerswaal says “you don’t have a chance to be whakamā, because you’ve just got to get it out, you’ve got to communicate.”
Kaupapa is an opportunity for whakawhanaungatanga, encouraging whānau to get off the screens according to Wereta and Remmerswaal. Wereta adds that it encourages whānau “to use te reo o te kāinga… so that the reo is alive in the home not just at the kura and the marae.”
Tamariki enjoying Kaupapa. Photo by Kura Rēhia.
The board game supports the aspiration of Aotearoa becoming a bilingual country.
“The possibility of a bilingual Aotearoa – and just saying that makes it possible.”
Being a new business, all revenue goes back into the business to cover operational expenses including the production of the board game.
Check out the article on TVNZ+.
