New Zealand’s national indigenous broadcaster, Māori Television, will host Irish President Mary McAleese and husband Dr Martin McAleese on Saturday November 3. The meeting at the channel’s Newmarket, Auckland, studios will focus on the experiences of both countries to support and revitalise their indigenous languages.

Ireland has a strong record of supporting the retention of the Gaelic language and recently launched a 20-year strategy to become a fully bilingual country. Māori Television will host the first ever World Indigenous Television Broadcasting Conference in March 2008 and one of the featured guest speakers is the chief executive of Irish indigenous broadcaster TG4, Pol O Gallchoir