Celebrate Vaiaso o le Gagana Sāmoa with a Fiafia Night at Newtown Library!
Tālofa Lava! We're celebrating Vaiaso o le Gagana Sāmoa with a Fiafia Night at Newtown Library on Friday 30 May - all welcome!
Image credit: Pacific Language Weeks, Ministry for Pacific Peoples
Fiafia Night at Ngā Puna Waiora | Newtown Library
Come along to Fiafia Night at Ngā Puna Waiora | Newtown Library!
When: Friday 30 May, 5 – 8pm
Who: Everyone is welcome!
We’re hosting an event to kick off and celebrate le Vaiaso o Gagana Samoa | Samoan Language Week 2025. Bring friends, family, and your dancing shoes along! There will be local Pasifika dancers and musical performances, and lots of yummy kai.
Sāmoa Language Week | Vaiaso o le Gagana Sāmoa is celebrated this year from 1 - 7 June. This is a chance for all New Zealanders to celebrate Sāmoan language, explore Sāmoan culture, and to grow the use of Sāmoan language in schools, at work and at home.
Every Sāmoa Language Week has a theme, and this year the theme is:
Ia malu lou sā. Folau i lagimā.
A well-grounded self is a successful self.
This theme reflects on the care, thoughtfulness, and teamwork needed to craft a strong sailing vessel that can handle the wild ocean. These same things are needed to help us all prepare to live good lives and to deal with everything that life throws at us.
This year's theme, chosen by the Komiti o le Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa, highlights the way that people always achieve great things thanks to their friends, families, and communities.
I'm sure you can think of many, many people who have helped you this year!
Sāmoa has a unique historical relationship with New Zealand. It is the only country that New Zealand has a Treaty of Friendship. The goal of the Treaty of Friendship between Sāmoa and Aotearoa is to support Tagata Sāmoa (Sāmoan people) to have better opportunities in life and work.
Did you know that nearly 4% of New Zealanders are Sāmoan? That’s almost 200,000 people! This has helped make Gagana Sāmoa the 3rd most spoken language in Aotearoa, New Zealand!
Being proud of your language is such an important part of feeling proud of your culture. Learning a new language is also a cool way to make other people in our community feel supported and appreciated!
Let's learn and practice some Gagana Sāmoa together.
