Celebrating our progress ahead of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori

As we approach Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (14-21 September 2024), we want to take a moment to celebrate how far Beca has come as an organisation in its cultural competency journey.

Since 2022, more than 670 people at Beca have taken part in a te reo Māori, tikanga or Māori leadership course. 

One of the priority areas for Te Ahi Tūtata, the Māori business team at Beca is Ringihia i te kete - expanding knowledge, with the objective of helping our Beca New Zealand teams to uplift their confidence and ability to use te reo Māori and tikanga at work. 

Civil Engineer Jason Abraham attended the inaugural hui for kaimahi Māori (Māori staff) at Beca in 2023, and also graduated from Māhuri (the Māori leadership programme at Beca) in 2023. He is just one example of someone who has connected to their culture and continued on their learning journey, as a result of the opportunities Beca has provided. 

Jason shares his story in his own words, below.
 

Jason and his wife Lucy with their boys Charlie (7) and Henry (3).

Jason’s te reo Māori journey 

Before Māhuri, I felt a bit unsure about my Māori identity.  I knew that I was Māori (Ngāti Kahungungu, Ngāti Pāhauwera) and I’ve never had anyone tell me I wasn’t, but because I don’t look Māori or speak reo Māori (Māori language), it felt strange to say that I was. 

On the first day of the Māhuri (Māori leadership) programme, the facilitators from Indigenous Growth Limited (IGL) shared the words “it doesn’t matter if you’re 1% Māori or 100% - you are Māori”. It struck me how much I needed to hear these words and they really allowed me to feel more at ease with my cultural identity. 

As part of the Māhuri programme, I participated in one-on-one coaching sessions with an IGL coach. Through these coaching sessions I realised that if I began learning te reo Māori (the Māori language), it would allow me to feel more comfortable and connected with my cultural identity.  Attending the 2023 Beca Kaimahi Māori hui also helped me to set reasonable expectations of myself, in terms of what learning te reo could be. There were people at that hui who were able to stand up and speak Māori to the group, and would share that they have been learning for many years and they are still on that journey. It was reassuring to hear and it showed me that I could make a start now, but I don’t have to be fluent in a year’s time. 

At the start of 2024, I signed up for Te Ara Reo Level 1 through Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. I’ve chosen an online class because it suits my lifestyle at the moment and allows me to learn around my work and family commitments. In the future, I would love to be able to contribute and speak reo Māori at hui. But for now, I’m just enjoying building up my vocabulary in a new language. I’m excited to develop my understanding of reo Māori and be able to appreciate it on a deeper level when it is spoken to me.

My wife is Chinese, and our kids (who are 7 and 3) have a strong sense of being Chinese and what that means to them. I hope that one day they will develop the same connection and understanding of what it means to be Māori, and a meaningful step toward that is for me to learn reo Māori and bring it into our lives.

One thing I think we can all do to show our support for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is focus on pronunciation of place names. It’s a case of slowing down when you’re saying the word and (for many of us) trying to correct a lifetime of saying a placename the wrong way. If you make the effort, I think it goes a long way and is hugely appreciated by those who speak te reo. Frequently using reo Māori greetings and farewells in the office is great too. It’s really encouraging when everyone gives it a go.