A significant national event dedicated to revitalising education through culture, language and identity took place this week, drawing over 100 participants each day from May 5 to 8, at the National Sports Arena in Nikao.

Te Umeia Te Maro Kura – Rebuilding Our Future: Language, Culture, and Identity in Cook Islands Education, is the first symposium of its kind and a major collaboration between Te Maraurau o Te Pae Apii (Ministry of Education) and Te Ui Ariki Ngateitei O Te Kuki Airani (UANKA), an organisation formed under the House of Ariki.

Launched on Monday, the symposium aimed to reshape the nation’s education system by embedding cultural heritage and innovation into teaching and learning practices.

Under the guiding theme Ranga Ia Te Kōrero, the event dedicated to honouring traditional knowledge and reawakening community pride in local language and identity.

Objectives of the symposium were:

• Reignite the value of education,
• Develop the education model,
• Chart a clear path forward – Provide a solid framework for the Ministry of Education to implement systemic changes that strengthen indigenous education.

“We want to get the community to drive what they want, what they see as success in education, how they value education,” explains Owen Lewis, Secretary of Te Maraurau o Te Pae Apii. “Because it’s different for everyone, and we can do something in the Ministry but it might not be what everyone wants.”

“So how do people value education, and what do they see as success? Is it with language? Is it being able to survive in the Cook Islands and restore that?”

Lewis says they can tailor the system to whatever they see as success, “but not be controlled by outside sources, instead be controlled with what we want, what our kids want”.

“We’ve got to remember that they’ve got to operate in a global world, but how we get there is what we want to hear. So there’s lots of options we have just in simple school settings.”

Lewis says the Education Master Plan, launched last year and presenting a strategic direction for education over the next 15 years, has highlighted just how important language is, and now the Ministry is asking the big questions.

“Do we aim for full immersion across all schools? Should some schools be immersion-focused while others remain mainstream? Do you want a dual system where in every school they run in parallel?”

Lewis says they should not let money dictate.

“We know our budget is minimal, but why should that dictate how we do it?”

He said the symposium was a fantastic initiative for the Ui Ariki (traditional leaders) to come together with the government to ask, “what can we do, because we’ve got a problem”.

“It’s not a crisis, but there’s options we have available to us … it’s been exciting just seeing the buy-in from the House of Ariki,” says Lewis.

“I’m really excited. But we have to be brave enough to open ourselves up to these partnerships, and I’m quite happy with that.”

Lewis embraces change – something not everyone is comfortable with. But as he puts it, there’s little point in repeating the same approach and expecting different outcomes.  If you want change, you have to be willing to do things differently, he adds.

According to him, this week’s symposium was about opening up dialogue, acknowledging that there are things beyond their control, and that they can’t be responsible for everything.

“Education begins at home, and so does language, and ideally, children would come to school already speaking the language. But the key is – we have to start somewhere,” Lewis stresses.

“It’s fighting your way through, making sure it happens and if everyone wants it and everyone’s got the same push and the same drive, then we can make a good change for the better.”

On Wednesday, the two leading points of discussion put to the panel discussion board comprising Cecilia Short, Dr Teina Rongo, Mike Tavioni, Narelle Huata, Reverand Tere Marsters and Tina Browne, the Leader of the Opposition, were:

• What is holding us back from leading our own solutions?
• Are our systems working for our people, or are we just copying other models”

Mitaera Ngatae Teatuakaro Michael Tavioni BEM affectionately known as “Mike” is a world-renowned artist and cultural icon.

“We are so colonised in our mind and in our lifestyle that we have chosen, and because of that, we diminish, we look down on our land and look down on our own culture. Simple as that,” shares Tavioni.

“We allow that to happen. So our way forward is to become a Māori again. Just become a Māori. Because we all think and believe that the Papaa way of life is the way for us. And it’s not.”

Tavioni says official statistics from Te Marae Ora Ministry of Health indicated that over 80 per cent of deaths in the Cook Islands between 2022 and 2023 were related to non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

He believes NCDs are not diseases but rather lifestyle diseases brought on by imported meat and produce and imported hormones and antibiotic-saturated chicken and pork.

“And we eat it, because that’s what you do,” he adds bluntly. “So it’s our value that we have lost. And it’s our acceptance of somebody else’s lifestyle. Our lifestyles have changed from being organic to eating chemicals.”

Tavioni says the way forward is to enhance our language and customs.

He says the government does not control or own the people; our people contribute financially to the government and those funds should be directed toward this purpose without delay.

“Our systems are not working. Because if 80 per cent of people die here from their lifestyle that they inherited from the Papaa way of eating, it’s not working.”

Marine biologist Dr Teina Rongo is the chairperson of non-governmental organisation, Te Kōrero o te 'Ōrau and a tutor in their Atui'anga ki te Tango (AKTT) programme, connecting our people to their culture and natural environment.

“What’s holding us back is really we’re afraid to take that step, because we’re always catering to others, because we want to make sure that everyone else understands us, that the English speakers in the room can understand us,” says Dr Rongo.

“We need to reflect on how we arrived at this point – how we were once forced to speak English. Now, it’s time to reverse that. The journey won’t be easy, but we must keep pushing forward. It’s uncomfortable at first because it’s unfamiliar, but every change begins somewhere.

“We don’t need to fight; we need to resist. Our existence is our resistance. If we just agree to what people are telling us to do, then that’s our demise.”

Dr Rongo believes in the value of our way of life, stating that practice precedes language, a principle guiding our current path.

“Because those that have taken a step in that direction will eventually grow. And I can already say, I can already see this in our young people today. They’re beginning to value who they are.

“They’re better than us. Even though we still have to practice, they’re the ones making the decision. We didn’t grow up being taught to value ourselves, but these young ones are doing exactly that.”

Te Kōrero o te 'Ōrau receives support from philanthropic organisations based far beyond the Cook Islands.

“We get very little from government, but we don’t care because when it comes to things like this, some people have to sacrifice. There needs to be a sacrifice in order for us to achieve what we want.

“We don’t wait for money to come our way. And so, we do the work now.”

Te Korero na te Kaumaiti Nui Tou Ariki

“Teia te inangaro to tatou Ui Ariki kua tuku mai i ta ratou kura tapu ki mua i te aroaro o te tuanga o te Maraurau Apii, kia akatinomou ia, akamatutu ia to tatou reo Māori aere kapiti ki te reo Papaa - tai aere anga raoa.

Me e Kuki Airani Māori koe tuatua koe te reo Māori ka uri ia mai ria kite reo Papaa. Me na ria tatou - te akara mai ra ria to tatou au tamariki i teia e opara – no te mea ko te anoano to tatou au Ariki ko ta tatou anau apii - mei te potiki mai aere atu ki runga.

Kia kite mai – naai ria e akaairi ia teia tutu, na to tatou Ui Ariki, na te Evangeria, na te Kavamani na te au mema paramania no te mea e aronga uri reo tetai.

Me e Māori koe e tuatua koe i te reo Māori no te mea ko te vaerua teia. Kare e tano ei e Māori koe, tuatua Papaa koe.

Teia akakoroanga kua turu to tatou Ui Ariki no runga tikae i te reo, te peu o te akonoanga Māori.

No reira, kia akameitaki ia teia e rave nei.

Teia to tatou au Ui Ariki e noo nei e angaanga kapiti kia te Maraurau O Te Pae Apii.