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Regional | Christchurch

Chch council supports free reo classes

The Christchurch City Council has teamed up with the popular Christchurch restaurant, Fush, to offer free te reo Māori classes at the Tūranga Central City Library.

The classes offer a supportive environment where anyone (beginner to expert) can go and learn basic te reo Māori conversational skills

Earlier this year, Fush owner Anton Mathews took matters into his own hands by starting free classes at his restaurant.  He received a lot of interest and decided to to relocate to a bigger space before the classes eventually came to an end.

Councilor Anne Galloway invited Mathews to a local board meeting to speak about the success of his initiative.

Mathews says, “Our original plan was to host small sessions in our restaurant, Fush, but we ended up having hundreds of people at each class so had to relocate to the Christchurch Boys’ High School hall.  It was awesome.”

Judging from the results of his free classes he says many people in Christchurch want to learn te reo Māori.

Councillor Vicky Buck has offered Mathews a space at the Tūranga Library- free of charge.

“For te reo to be normalised in Aotearoa, we need more people to learn at least the basics,” Councillor Buck says.

Buck also says, “We’d love to make Ōtautahi the most te reo-proficient city in the country and ensure that the language becomes part of our everyday lives.”

Classes start on Monday 26th of November and run from 8 to 9 pm.  There will be four classes every Monday up until Christmas, with the possibility of more next year depending on the public response.

Anyone can register by simply clicking "Going" on the class facebook page.