The Mokuola Honua: Global Center for Indigenous Language Excellence is a budding initiative developed in partnership between Aha Punana Leo and the Ka Haka Ula o Keelikolani Hawaiian Language College of the University of Hawaii at Hilo.



International indigenous language advocates who have spent years of diplomacy and determination getting the year declared are pleased. “We come with humility as your guests to this great house to speak on behalf of 370 million indigenous peoples around the world,” affirmed Grand Chief Edward John, a First Nations leader of Canada.



Hawaii’s indigenous language - olelo Hawaii - was once itself near the brink of extinction with less than 30 speakers under the age of 18 only a short 35 years ago. Use of Hawaiian language is on the rise again, with an estimated 25,000 or more speakers today, and the Hawaiian language movement has become a model for indigenous language revitalization, according to Mokuola Honua.



The UNESCO Action Plan for the 2019 IYIL includes a range of activities, including hundreds of events worldwide, global conferences, a social media campaign (#IndigenousLanguages), and more. For more, visit www.en.iyil2019.org.