A personal social experiment started three years ago was recognised nationally at the Māori Language Commission’s 14th Ngā Tohu Reo Māori, National Māori Language Awards on Friday night.

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Poutiaki Reo/Tikanga Paraone Gloyne initiated Mahuru Māori in 2014 as a way of promoting the use of te reo Māori in our everyday lives.

Mahuru Māori challenged participants to communicate using only te reo Māori for the month of September, regardless of who you speak to or where and when you speak it.

The initiative on Friday was judged the winner of the Mātauranga section of the awards while Paraone was also a finalist for the individual award.

From its small beginnings, Mahuru Māori has grown each year. It was initially laid out as a challenge for Te Wānanga o Aotearoa kaimahi but has quickly been embraced throughout the country and even attracts international participants. In 2017, more than 1400 people joined the Mahuru Māori Facebook page.

People taking part in Mahuru Māori can choose to speak te reo Māori for either one day per week, a whole week or the entire month of September.