Ben O'Connell
By Ben O’Connell
Tātai Aho Rau Core Education and Grok Academy, an Australian-based digital technologies provider focused on creating safer online spaces for learners, were awarded the Digi Matihiko Award at the Māori Language Awards last Friday night.
The not-for-profit aims to help tamariki foster digital literacy and safety. With children always online these days, Tātai Aho Rau Core Education hopes the programme helps tamariki to feel more protected.
The Te Ao Matihiko – Digital award is for a major project to translate and adapt an online cyber-security course into Te Reo Māori. Creating these cyber-security resources for schools reflects a commitment to improving digital safety for all learners nationwide.
The resources and courses are available for ākonga in years 9 – 13 and offer accessible resources for learners in Aotearoa. The Australian-created suite of online cyber-security resources, Cyber Skills Aotearoa, was also aligned with our local curricula.
The Māori language team at Tātai Aho Rau created a resource that empowers rangatahi Māori to engage in IT through te reo Māori. Sample terms from Pūkenga ā-Ipurangi Aotearoa include:
· taupānga / app
· haumaru ā-ipurangi / cyber-security
· kupuhipa / password
· mūreretia / hacked
· mōhiohio tūmatanui / private information
· kīangahipa / passphrase
· whakamuna / encrypt
For the Grok Academy, “Creating cyber-security resources for kura reflects our commitment to improving digital safety for all learners in Aotearoa. As it is in all languages, the cyber-security vocabulary in the project is complex.”
“This may be a world first – abroad, online cyber-safety programme in an indigenous language,” says Tumu Whakarae Hana O’Regan. “We plan to continue to create resources about our online environments in Te Reo Māori.
Grok has gained valuable insights about working with the Māori language. This experience has offered transferable knowledge to diverse contexts in Australia. It is hoped the partnership can open doors to further work, such as developing resources tailored to Pacific communities and promoting this suite of resources.
Te Reo Māori is an endangered language, and increasing its use in everyday situations, including digital ones, is crucial for its survival. Digital spaces offer a vast platform for speakers to connect, share content, and normalise the language in a contemporary context. Revitalising te reo through efforts like how Tātai Aho Rau Core Education and Grok Academy have is vital.
Having te reo Māori present in digital spaces reflects and reinforces te ao Māori, which is integral to modern New Zealand identity. Further, including Te Reo Māori equivalents for digital terms fosters inclusion for Māori speakers and learners, allowing them to fully participate in the digital world in their language.
When you consider how important online spaces are for community building, ensuring te reo Māori is used in digital realms becomes clear. Digital spaces can act as virtual communities for Māori speakers who might be geographically dispersed. Using Te Reo Māori online fosters connection and strengthens cultural identity within these communities.
Here’s an analogy: imagine digital spaces as a giant conversation. By including Te Reo Māori, Māori speakers and learners can join that conversation on their own terms, preserving their language and culture in the digital age.