In the vibrant cultural landscape of Aotearoa, nurturing and celebrating multilingualism has emerged as a crucial endeavour. This panel discussion, titled "Ōku Reo Kāmehameha - My Languages are my super power," delves into the multifaceted dimensions of fostering indigenous and heritage languages as a rich garden for learning in Aotearoa. Our esteemed panelists, facilitated by Dr Maraea Hunia, will explore key themes such as identities, languages and cultures; effective pedagogies; addressing systemic racism and bias; and navigating and creating language domains in support of learning.

The panel will discuss:

• strategies and approaches that educators and communities can employ to nurture indigenous language use,
• discussing effective pedagogies that empower learners to harness their full linguistic repertoires and translanguaging capabilities,
• how embracing and valuing indigenous and heritage languages and cultural backgrounds contributes positively to education,
• the challenges of systemic racism and bias that hinders learning by speakers of indigenous languages
• how educational institutions, families, and communities can collaboratively create environments that foster indigenous and heritage language,
• sharing success stories and best practices  to inspire the creation of place/time, kaupapa and people domains to normalise and support indigenous and heritage languages use.

Together, we will uncover strategies, insights, and collaborative solutions that celebrate the richness of languages and empower our learners to harness their linguistic superpowers for a brighter and more equitable future.