Tech helping revitalise the Māori language
Tech is helping revitalise te Reo Māori, with Kiwa Digital's CEO saying we're at an exciting new phase.
According to Steven Renata, CEO of digital publishing firm Kiwa Digital, says technology is enabling scale and reach beyond "what's been dreamed" in the past.
Renata was echoing the words of Māori Language Commission Chair Dr Wayne Ngata at Ngā Tohu Reo Māori last Friday, where Dr Ngata declared, "2016 will be seen as a pivotal year in which revitalisation stopped being a dream, and became a plan.
"Language champions honoured at the awards shared a commitment to engage with their workforce and communities on a large scale, with many including a digital solution as part of their well-planned te reo journey,'" says Renata.
"Leading the way is Ararau Rangi Air New Zealand, Supreme Award Winner, whose decade long programme of integrating te reo Māori and Māori values into workplaces and customer interactions now includes their own cultural and language app Te Kete Tikanga Māori," he explains.
Renata says Kiwa Digital sees itself as playing a major role in this mahi, through its cultural intelligence tool that is putting Te Ao Māori on to the phones and tablets of workforces throughout New Zealand.
As well as Air New Zealand, the company works with Callaghan Innovation, and (in development) Auckland Council, Worksafe NZ, Department of Conservation, Meridian Energy and a number of local authorities.
"Nau mai ki te ao matihiko | Welcome to the digital arena - it's a saying you will hear a lot more of," adds Renata.
