Ministry for Pacific Peoples — Pacific Languages Community Fund Apply now for MPP's Pacific Youth Languages Fund Skip to content
Home / Funding / Pacific Languages Community Fund (open)

Pacific Languages Community Fund

Pacific Languages Community Fund

As part of the Pacific Languages Strategy, the Pacific Languages Community Fund has been established to support Pacific communities to drive and lead solutions to retaining and revitalising Pacific languages in Aotearoa.

Our Pacific languages matter because they tell the story of who we are. Language, culture, and identity is essential to the wellbeing and long-time success of Pacific people in Aotearoa.

Comparisons from Census 2013 to Census 2018 data shows that the proportion of speakers of Pacific languages in Aotearoa has declined across the board.

The Pacific Language Community Funding is aimed at initiatives that align to the Pacific Language Strategy key objectives, which helps revitalize, maintain, and increase the number of speakers of Pacific languages, strengthening their identities and cultural confidence.

The Pacific Languages Community Fund aims to support community-led initiatives that:

  • Raise the value of Pacific languages across Aotearoa 
  • Strengthen pathways and resources for learning Pacific languages and learning in Pacific languages 
  • Create environments for Pacific languages to be used more often, and in more space

Applicants can apply for up to $50,000 excl. GST.

Applications opened on Wednesday 8 June and will close at 5pm on Friday, 29 July, 2022. 

APPLY NOW

If you have any questions about the fund, please email [email protected]. 

About the fund

The Pacific Languages Community Fund aims to support community-led initiatives that:

  • Raise the value of Pacific languages across Aotearoa 
  • Strengthen pathways and resources for learning Pacific languages and learning in Pacific languages 
  • Create environments for Pacific languages to be used more often, and in more space

Applicants can apply for up to $50,000.

The Fund opened for applications on Wednesday 8 June and will close at 5 pm on Friday, 29 July, 2022. 

To be eligible, applicants must:

  • be a citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand
  • be of Pacific descent, or serve a Pacific audience
  • represent a registered group with the Ministry for Pacific Peoples
  • represent a Pacific owned and/or operated group or organisation
  • be able to deliver an initiative targeted at Pacific communities within the timeframe and allocated funding
  • must have an initiative with clear outcomes aligned to Lalanga Fou Goal 1 (Thriving Pacific Languages, Cultures and Identities)

Pacific Languages Community Funding is available for initiatives that are aligned to (but not limited to):

  • targeted at Pacific communities
  • teaching and sharing Pacific languages through different mediums such as music, dance, cultural arts and craft, sports, cultural knowledge etc
  • helping grow the number of speakers of Pacific languages in Aotearoa
  • targeted at Pacific languages indigenous to the Pacific
  • can be delivered successfully by 30 June 2023.

All initiatives funded by the Pacific Languages Community Fund need to follow Government COVID-19 health measures for gatherings and social distancing when required. We ask applicants to consider alternative ways to run their programme, such as online where possible.

The Pacific Languages Community Fund is not available for:

  • individuals
  • academic research and other academic activities.
  • for-profit business 
  • educational institutions including Early Learning, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary providers (funding that sits in other sectors)
  • programmes and activities delivered overseas including the NZ realm countries.
  • debt repayment or debt servicing
  • travel, accommodation, or fact-finding tours
  • initiatives outside the purpose of the Pacific Languages Community Fund

See frequently asked questions about the Pacific Languages Community Fund

Applicants can apply by submitting a costed proposal of up to $50,000 using the online application form or via email using a downloadable version in MS Word or PDF format. 

You'll need to apply online or via email by 5pm, Friday 29 July 2022.

Apply now.

With your application, you will be required to submit your detailed budget. To assist with this, you can download one of our budget templates below:

Budget template: MS Word format  |  PDF format

If you need more information about the Pacific Languages Community Fund, please email [email protected].