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One of New Zealand’s largest telecommunications companies has heard an exhortation to use the country’s original indigenous name of Aotearoa, joining others who have pledged to use more reo, the Maori language, or method – protocols – in your daily business operations.
Earlier this week, Vodafone, which has about 2,000 New Zealand employees, confirmed that it had changed its banner on top of users’ phones from “Vodafone NZ” to “VF Aotearoa.” The company gave little thought to those on social media who complained about the change. Rival companies backed the measure.
It came when DDB Group Aotearoa, a communications agency with 250 local employees, changed its name from DDB Group New Zealand. The change came along with efforts to hire more diverse staff and funding for employees to attend Maori language courses during business hours. Both ventures were prompted by an insistence of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, a sour, or sub-tribe, in Auckland city – to “individually and collectively use the word ‘Aotearoa'”.
Tina Ngata, an advocate for indigenous rights, said the move was “curative” and an act of anti-racism, stating “the story that there were people living here before colonization occurred.”
“[The name] New Zealand erases who was there, ”he said. “Personally, I think when you use the term Aotearoa, it is more inclusive.”
DDB Group’s Justin Mowday said the firm wanted to participate in “creating one more Aotearoa by embracing Te Ao Māori,” that is, the Maori worldview.
Te reo Māori is experiencing a revival in New Zealand; Until recently it was feared that it would disappear altogether, with individual words, greetings or proverbs more evident in everyday life and long waiting lists for those eager to take lessons. Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister, hopes to see 1 million New Zealanders speaking the language by 2040.
Its renewed popularity has sparked a debate over whether place names should revert to their original nicknames before the arrival of European and British colonizers. The name New Zealand comes from the Dutch “Nieuw Zeeland” and was given to the country by a Dutch cartographer.
Aotearoa is commonly translated as “land of the long white cloud”.
When a Vodafone user on Twitter threatened to switch service providers after noticing the change on his phone this week, Vodafone responded that the move was “simply to celebrate one of the three beautiful official languages” in the country (the third is New Zealand Sign Language).
“There are no plans to change it at this stage,” the company added on Twitter.
A rival company, 2Degrees, asked the whistleblower “kei te pēhea koe” or “how are you?” before telling the man that he “better not change us“Because the firm” loves[s] Also celebrating the Maori te reo! “
And Spark, Vodafone’s biggest competitor, added on Twitter: “Te Reo is a normal part of our country and we will continue to encourage and provide tools to those who wish to expand their knowledge and cultural understanding.”
It is common for companies to use te reo more during the annual Maori language week in September, but many abandon it afterward. Ngata said companies that implement the language must follow it and be “more inclusive in their company policies as well.”
Maori still face discrimination, worse health outcomes and overrepresentation in the court system compared to Pakeha, or New Zealanders of European descent.
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