Tuvalu Language Week will be celebrated from Sunday 28 September until Saturday 4 October 2025.
This year's Tuvalu Language Week theme urges speakers to share their language with confidence.
Vaiaso o te Gana Tuvalu is a chance to learn about te ‘Gana Tuvalu and celebrate with the Tuvalu community in Aotearoa.
The week is marked by community events and celebrations across the country, as well as downloadable resources and language guides to help everyone try using the language.
This year’s theme, chosen by the community, is Faipati mo te mautinoa kae amanaia tou fakavae, which translates to speak confidently and respect your foundation.
Secretary for Pacific Peoples Gerardine Clifford-Lidstone says this theme is a reminder to be proud in sharing our ancestral languages.
“Language is an essential way to share and maintain culture and identity. Tuvalu Language Week is about acknowledging the role the Tuvaluan language has in keeping the community strong and its traditions alive here in Aotearoa New Zealand,” says Gerardine.
This theme also resonates with Tuvaluan community member Sepola Faavae, who is looking forward to sharing her culture with a wider audience during the week.
“I celebrate being Tuvaluan every day. At work it is through my values, and in my community it is through our cultural practices like our traditional dance fatele. At church and at home it is through the use of my heavenly Tuvaluan language,” says Sepola.
For Sepola, whose first language was te ‘Gana Tuvalu, speaking the language of her ancestors gives her deeper insights into Tuvalu’s culture.
Talapai Tima of Wellington’s Tuvalu For All Trust, agrees that Tuvalu’s language is a carrier of its values and traditions.
“Being Tuvaluan means carrying the values, strength and the love crafted by our ancestors. By keeping our language alive, we preserve our values with strength for our next generation,” says Talapai.
Tuvalu has nine islands with their own unique cultural trends and traditions.
Free downloadable language resources, event information, posters and more can be found on Tuvalu Language Week webpage, or on the NZ Tuvalu Language Week Facebook page.