Kam na mauri (Greetings)!
Kiribati Language Week (Wikin te Taetae ni Kiribati) is being celebrated this week from 6-12 July 2025 and we are acknowledging our small but vibrant Kiribati whānau at Unitec.
Unitec Pacific Centre invites kaimahi and ākonga to a one-day workshop on Wednesday, 9 July to demonstrate simple Kiribati weaving using natural resources, led by kaimahi Janet Tawaketini with the support of our Kiribati ākonga.
This workshop will run from 11am –12 pm at the Koru Pod (opposite the Ask Me Desk), in Te Puna, followed by light refreshments at the Pacific Centre, Building 180.
There will also be displays of Kiribati taonga at both Mt Albert and Waitākere campuses this week.
The 2025 theme for Kiribati Language Week is ‘Maiuakinan te katei ri nanon te tangira ma te ikarinerine bon wantongan te mwenga ibukin te rikirake – Living our valued cultural practices through love and respect upholds our dignity and growth for a successful future’.
Meet our Kiribati staff and students
Unitec ākonga, Taberauea Takenteata (pictured left) says this year’s theme resonates with her personally.
“I am from the island of Marakei, which is one of the northern group islands in Kiribati,” she says.
“One of the things I love about my culture is the way we show love and respect to one another, and most importantly, how we preserve our language.”
Taberauea is currently studying the Level 5 English Pathway Course and preparing to continue her nursing studies at Unitec.
WATCH OUR VIDEO OF TABERAUEA TALKING ABOUT HER KIRIBATI HERITAGE
Janet Berenia Tawaketini (pictured below) is an Academic Learning Development Lecturer, who is also proud of her Kiribati heritage and ancestral links to the island of Banaba. She shared her experience as an I-Kiribati in the NZ diaspora.
“Kam na mauri inanon wiki n te taetae n Kiribati. I was born and raised on Rabi Island in Fiji,” she explains.
“Kiribati, being a string of coral atolls, is prone to sea level rise due to climate change. My Banaban ancestors, were relocated due to colonial systems of phosphate mining.
“Growing up in Fiji, we were called Banabans and this has made me unaware of my Kiribati identity until Kiribati fought for independence. However, as I grew older, I found that my identity is very much I-Kiribati, but I maintain my Banaban identity too.
Janet explains that years of displacement had meant many Banabans lost their original language and now speak Kiribati. But she is proud she has maintained her language and culture while raising her children and grandchildren in the diaspora.
“I am proud that family is still the foundation of who we are. Prouder still to be the only I-Kiribati on Unitec staff and one of my proudest moments was being invited by Manukau Institute of Technology to announce their Kiribati graduands in this year’s Semester One Graduation Celebration,” she says.
Find out more about Kiribati
Kiribati is a Pacific island nation made up of 32 atolls and one remote raised coral island, Banaba. Its people are known for their strong communal ties.
The Kiribati population in New Zealand was 4,659 as of the 2023 Census. Many I-Kiribati people have migrated to New Zealand, with a significant number settling in the Auckland region, particularly in Warkworth.
Gilbertese, also known as I-Kiribati, is a language spoken by a significant portion of the community in Aotearoa, with around 50% of I-Kiribati people speaking it.
Many Kiribati people migrate to New Zealand for work opportunities, particularly in seasonal employment.
Kiribati is officially known as the Republic of Kiribati, and is situated in the Micronesia subregion of the Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census and more than half live on the island Tarawa which is the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific Theatre during World War Two.
Kiribati gained its independence from the United Kingdom, becoming a sovereign state in 1979. The capital, South Tarawa, is the most populated area. Prior to its independence the country exported phosphate. Fisheries and the export of copra now drives much of the economy.
