New app embeds te ao Māori in local government

Te Ao Māori News

A new app being rolled out at all five of the Hawke's Bay's councils is being touted as a revolutionary step to integrate the Māori world into local government and decolonise council institutions.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council pou whakarae (Group Manager Māori) Pieri Munro says the idea came about simply from necessity and availability.

"I mean, everyone in New Zealand has mobile phones.

"So for us, it was about how we could use that in terms of connecting our staff with the right information."

The app is called 'Te Kupenga' and is designed to help the council's more than 1500 staff increase their understanding of tikanga (etiquette), te reo, the tangata whenua of Te Mātau a Māui and provide specific information on terms of Treaty settlements.

"This is about enabling them to learn te reo, as a learning tool but also as an information tool.

"It gives them access to connect to the right people – tangata wenua, and marae around the motu.