(Picture caption: Tokelau youth experience radio broadcasting during Tokelau Language Week - Te Vaiaho o te Gagana Tokelau 2023.)
There was fun in the studio when Wellington Access Radio hosted a group of young people from the Tokelau community as part of Tokelau Language Week - Te Vaiaho o te Gagana Tokelau 2023.
Last week’s celebration of Tokelau language and culture was the last of nine Pacific Language Weeks for the year, and to mark the occasion, the group of young people got a taste of broadcasting, contributing to the extra programming scheduled for the radio show Tugaki O Tokelau.
Tugaki O Tokelau also hosted all-night shows throughout the week, taking over the airwaves from 12am until 5am.
All this was on top of Tugaki O Tokelau’s regular shows, incorporating news, community notices, music, and discussions in te Gagana Tokelau every week, on Thursdays 2pm – 4pm and Fridays from 8pm- 10pm.
Tugaki O Tokelau programme-maker Nive Ahelemo Venning says the overnight programmes during Tokelau Language Week were an opportunity for the various Tokelau communities in Wellington to showcase who, what, where and how they were going to promote Tokelau Language and culture.
“We anticipated we would reach listeners near and far – we regularly hear from families in Australia, America, and our home island,” Nive says.
“And we get callers from various regions of New Zealand and regular local callers.”
This year’s theme was Ke Olatia ko ia Tokelau I tana Fakavae – Tokelau to prosper within its foundation, and communities around Aotearoa New Zealand rallied, embracing the theme and the celebration of the Pacific language and culture.
Meanwhile, Wellington Access Radio, which broadcasts programmes in over 20 languages and subsidises airtime so Whanganui-a-Tara can hear more from programme-makers during Pacific Language Weeks, has expressed gratitude to the Tugaki O Tokelau team for all the work they put into Tokelau Language Week, this year and in previous years.
Special programmes from Radio Viti Aotearoa, a Fijian language show, were also broadcast in October during Fiji Language Week.
Wellington Access Radio is on-air on 106.1FM, streaming live throughout Aotearoa, and on podcasts at accessmedia.nz, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.