Event Details
Toitū Te Reo 2025
November 13–14, Hastings CBD & Toitoi – Hawke’s Bay Arts & Events Centre
Toitū Te Reo, Aotearoa’s national Māori language festival, returns to Heretaunga in November 2025 with two days of celebration, challenge, and inspiration.
This year’s theme, Titiro Whakaroto – Look Within, is a call to reset, renew, and bring fresh thinking to the revitalisation of te reo Māori. Anchored by the support of Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po and the lifelong vision of Dr. Sir Tīmoti Kāretu, Toitū Te Reo is more than an event - it is a movement of enduring significance.
At the heart of the festival is the Toitū Te Reo symposiums, now running in two spaces:
- Rangimamao, full immersion in te reo Māori.
- Pūmotomoto, delivered in English.
Across two days, the symposiums will feature keynote addresses, panels, and grassroots stories exploring some of the most pressing issues for te reo today: artificial intelligence, sustaining reo in the home, dialects, language trauma, elitism and accessibility, neurodiversity, and the widening gap between those who have reo and those striving to reclaim it. Rangatahi voices will be central, and kōrero will also explore tikanga and the wellbeing of our reo champions.
Beyond the symposium, the Hastings CBD will come alive with a free street celebration, featuring concerts, presentations, expo areas, and wānanga. The programme will also showcase the creative power of te reo through waiata composition panels, live shows, and bilingual comedy - ensuring the festival not only debates challenges but also celebrates the vitality and beauty of our language in action.
Dates: Thursday 13 – Friday 14 November 2025
Location: Hastings CBD & Toitoi – Hawke’s Bay Arts & Events Centre
