The Department of Corrections (Ara Poutama Aotearoa) is encouraging more of its staff to learn te Reo Māori through a handy mobile application.

The app, called Tihi-o-Manōno, was co-developed by Corrections and digital developer Kiwa Digital, and gives Corrections staff access to information which will help increase their te Reo literacy. This includes basics such as pronunciation, greetings, learning their pepeha, formally opening and closing meetings, understanding tikanga and other foundation level skills.

The app also has the words to Corrections’ waiata, and the geographic locations of iwi and hapÅ«, among other things.

"The app has been designed to help our staff to learn and retain a foundation level of te Reo Māori so they can feel confident using and understanding the language within their workplace. The app can be downloaded for free by everyone - not just Corrections staff," says Neil Campbell, General Manager Cultural Capability at Corrections.

"At Ara Poutama Aotearoa we’re encouraging our staff to see te Reo Māori as a language that belongs to all New Zealanders and value and use it as such. By normalising and revitalising te Reo Māori, we’re doing our part to help the Crown achieve its goal of a million people speaking the language by 2040.

"Increasing our staff’s te Reo literacy is essential to the work we are doing with the Hōkai Rangi strategy, which aims to uplift the oranga (wellbeing) of Māori in our care and their whānau."

The mobile application can be downloaded for free by anyone and is available on the Google Play Store for Android devices and the App Store for Apple devices. It can be found by searching ‘Tihi-o-Manōno’ or ‘Ara Poutama’.

As well as the app, new staff learn about Corrections’ kaupapa values during the Ara Tika induction pathway which is delivered to frontline staff during their first week with the Department. The latest cohort of new recruits began their training today.