Te Taumata, a Māori language wānanga that specialises in the dialects of Northland tribes, is moving online.
The usually week-long event will also be pared down to a series of discussions over a single day.
The move is aimed at protecting people from Covid-19.
Te Taumata is a Māori language seminar started in 2018, to teach Northland tribal dialects.
Alana Thomas, who is one of the main organisers of Te Taumata says, it was born out of the idea to bring the people of the North together.
"It was started as an idea - what is something that could unite all the iwi of Te Taitokerau?
"One strand that may bind one iwi to another, is our love for the language."
Some of the top exponents of the reo in the north were chosen to lead the initiative.
Covid-19 hitch
But Thomas says the arrival of coronavirus has hampered efforts.
"With the outbreak of Covid, the group of teachers decided that we should wait. We should wait for when the time was right, and that we could meet in person at the wānanga."
Then it was decided that Te Taumata should go online.
"Our teachers decided to revisit that decision, and asked the question, what about the lifeforce of the wānanga? How do you expand it? So that it doesn't sleep. Perhaps some would forget that this kaupapa existed."
Thomas says the future of Te Taumata lies in the need for the dialect of the north to remain strong.
"To learn the reo of home, the language of the north so children can grow up with an understanding of their own dialect, the Ngāpuhi dialect, Te Aupōuri dialect, Ngāti Kahu dialect. That is the goal, the dialect of home."