Tātai Aho Rau Core Education, a non-profit organization, has been recognized at this year’s Māori Language Awards for its work in teaching cyber skills to teenagers. The organization received the digital award for its Pūkenga ā-Ipurangi Aotearoa cyber skills program.
The team at Tātai Aho Rau was approached by Grok Academy, an Australian cyber security education firm, to create resources for teaching cyber skills to young people. These resources were provided in both the Māori language and English.
Anahera McGregor, a content specialist at Tātai Aho Rau, said the team was very proud of their work. She added that many young people are always online, and the program aims to help them stay safe.
When the program was brought to New Zealand, the team had to ensure it would reflect the Māori world view and language. This involved creating a glossary of new words for cybersecurity terms in the Māori language, such as mūrere (hack), whakamuna (encrypt), and kīanga hipa (passphrase).
McGregor said it was important for all students, especially those learning in Māori language environments, to have equal access to global resources. She added that more investment is needed to promote the use of the Māori language across all sectors in New Zealand.
The chief executive of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, Ngahiwi Apanui, praised all the award recipients for their advocacy, innovation, and leadership in promoting the Māori language. Each recipient was awarded a specially designed hei tiki, a traditional Māori pendant, created by Vaka.
