Adult Learners’ Week—He Tangata Mātauranga returns from 7–13 September 2026, celebrating adult learners and the transformative power of learning together.
A UNESCO initiative celebrated in more than 40 countries, Adult Learners’ Week is part of an international movement dedicated to self-determination through learning. ACE Aotearoa has celebrated the festival across the motu for more than 25 years, showcasing community learning and acknowledging adults who have returned to education.
The theme for 2026 is Finding Our Voice—Ko tōku reo, ko tōku ohooho!, meaning “My language or voice is my awakening power.”
This theme has a special resonance for Rihari, who has been tutoring te reo Māori with REAP Wairarapa in Pahiatua since 2018.
What can learning give people words for?
For learners of te reo Māori, it can give them the words to express who they are and where they come from.
Rihari sees learning create greater confidence in people’s identities. Learning their pepeha can help ground learners in te ao Māori, providing a meaningful foundation from which to begin or continue their te reo Māori journey.
The experience can also create a renewed sense of pride. As people learn, they may reflect on earlier experiences, knowledge and connections that have shaped them. Revisiting these parts of themselves through te reo Māori can leave learners feeling revitalised and more confident about who they are.
What changes when someone quiet in the class finds their voice?
“Everything!” says Rihari.
When a learner finds the confidence to contribute, it unlocks a whole new layer of learning. They become more willing to ask questions, introduce new topics and participate in conversations.
Their contribution can also create new learning opportunities for everyone else in the room. A question from one person may lead the group into an unexpected discussion, encourage another learner to share their knowledge or help someone else realise they are not alone in wondering about something.
Finding your voice does not necessarily mean becoming the loudest person in the room. It can mean feeling safe enough to ask a question, introduce yourself through your pepeha, try an unfamiliar word or share an experience with the group.
Every time a learner takes one of these steps, new possibilities open up.
Adult learning in a group offers something that learning alone cannot: the opportunity to draw on the ideas, experiences and encouragement of others.
In Rihari’s classes, learners can bounce ideas off one another and gain the confidence to try new things. They discover a collective wisdom and begin to build each other up, strengthening the confidence of the whole group.
“There is a safety in a group of individuals coming together,” Rihari says.
That sense of safety matters. Learning a language requires people to experiment, make mistakes and try again. A supportive group helps learners understand that mistakes are a natural and valuable part of the journey.
As learners practise together, they encourage one another and share in each other’s progress. Individual confidence grows within the collective, while the collective becomes stronger through every person’s contribution.
The 2026 theme, Finding Our Voice—Ko tōku reo, ko tōku ohooho!, invites us to consider how lifelong learning helps people discover and express their unique voices.
Through learning te reo Māori, people can develop the words and confidence to speak about their identity, their connections and the places they come from. They can become more informed, participate more fully in conversations and experience the power of using their voices alongside others.
Adult learning happens throughout our communities—in libraries, community centres, church halls, schools, marae and spaces such as REAP Wairarapa. Wherever it takes place, it can support wellbeing, strengthen relationships and create opportunities for people to grow together.
Adult Learners’ Week aims to:
- Celebrate learner success
- Raise the profile of community education and its benefits
- Encourage learning and make it accessible to everyone
Rihari’s classes show these aims in action. Learners are strengthening their identities, finding the confidence to participate and discovering the collective wisdom that emerges when adults learn together.
That is the power of finding our voices: each person’s voice is unique, but when those voices come together, they can encourage, support and awaken one another.
Adult Learners’ Week—He Tangata Mātauranga
7–13 September 2026
Finding Our Voice—Ko tōku reo, ko tōku ohooho!