Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
Ko tā te mātauranga he whakaoho i te koroingo o te wairua
Kai te whakapūare whare hou e tētehi pākihi Māori aroha nui ana ki ngā tamariki o te hāpori ki a eke ai rātau ki te pae o o rātau moemoeā. Ko Digital Natives Academy te ingoa.
“E panapana nei te whatumanawa i te kaupapa hou, te rōpū whakahirahira otīā te wāhi hou. Ko ngā pūkenga kai te whāngaingia ki te tauira ko te rorohiko me te auaha rorohiko. Mā ngā kaupapa hāpori e ngiha ai te puku o te hunga rangatahi e whakawhanake ai ngā aka o te hinengaro ki a tupu ki a rea. He kaupapa-ā-ringaringa tēnei engari he kaha nō mātau ki te tuku i te mātauranga tika ki ēnei toa kia takahia ai e rātau ngā huarahi o te ao rorohiko”.
Koia tēnei hai tā te Ringatohu o te pākihi ko Nikolasa Biasiny-Tule. Ā te toru tekau mā tahi o Maehe whakarewa ai tēnei waka. He kaupapa mā te rangatahi kai te takiwā o te kotahi tekau mā ono tae ki te taumata e rua tekau mā whā te pakeke. Kua tata pau katoa ngā tūrū i ngā tinana engari taihoa ake he waka anō ka rewa ā te Hūrae. Ko Te Ao Māori me te Mātauranga Māori te tāhūhū o te puaki korero.
E hoki ana te titiro ki ngā rautau kua hori ko te mana nui o te takere waka he mahi tāpoi, he manaaki tūruhi, he tapahi rākau paina, ā, he ahuwhenua. He ahakoa kai te āta kaha tonu ēnei pou o te hāpori, ka kite kau tātau nā te mate urutā ka whati ētehi o ēnei pou. E rua, e rua, ka whati ētehi ka mana ētehi. Ko te mana o te rorohiko kāore i whati, nā wai rā ka toko ake te whakaaro i a mātau kia manaakingia tēnei waka hai waka hāpai i ngā wawata me te mana o te rangatahi.
“Kai te whakahouhia e te hāpori tana tinana ā mahi nei. He aha ngā tino pou o tēnei takiwā e toka tū moana ai, ā, e kore rawa e nunumi i te huka o te moana. E tika ana hoki kua hau te rongo o te Waiariki ki ngā kokonga o te ao, he wāhi kaha a Rotorua mō te waihanga whakaahua/ kiriata, mō te whakaara kaupapa waiata, engari anō mō te waihanga tuhituhi me te kawe i ngā kaupapa matihiko”.
Nā te rangatira o ngā hōtaka nā Marcus Powell tēnei tai korero. Ko ia hoki te pou whakahaere o te whare nei. Anō nei tāna, “Me i kore ngā mātanga matihiko ka rite ēnei waka ki te pakeke pae ki uta”.
Ko Native Tech tā rātau kaupapa hou. He kaupapa utu kore mā ngā tauira.
He kaupapa nā Digital Native i waihanga i a rātau e kawe kaupapa mahi mā te hunga rangatahi i ngā tau e iwa kua hori.Kai te hāngai pū tēnei whakaaro ki te hunga wairua momohe ki te mātauranga, ki te hunga wairua kore nei ki te huarahi o te mātauranga rānei.
E ai ki ngā tatauranga ka eke tātau ki te tau 2030 he whā paiheneti anake e mea nei he Māori e mahi ana ki te ao matihiko e toru tekau paiheneti o te ohu mahi he Māori he Poronēhia rānei. Me he takiwā mātauranga ngoikore, kame ngoikore, pēnei i Rotorua nei, kai te kumu te ihu o te manawa e oreore ana. ' Me māia kē tātau ki te nanao atu ki ngā kame o te ao hou ki a whāngaitia te āpōpō ki a rae rangatira atu rātau ki te huka o te mahi kai te pae tawhiti.
Ko te ao matihiko tāku e korero nei kia kāua te Māori e māhue’. Ko ngā pito whakaaro ēnei o Potaua Biasiny-Tule. Te mātanga waihanga i tēnei kaupapa, kai te pae hoki ia o te InternetNZ, koia hoki te tiamana o Te Komiti Whakauru Māori.
He waka hourua a Native Tech. Ko tetehi o ngā ama kai te takiwā o te Waiariki ko tētehi ama nō Taranaki. Ko Morehu Ransfield he rangatira nui nānā te kaupapa nohinohi i whakarewa ko Oranga Matihiko te ingoa i tū ki tētehi kāreti i Ngāmotu. Kua whitu o ngā tau taua kaupapa e tere ana rāua tahi ko Te Papatipu Matihiko Charitable Trust. He huinga pouwhiriwhiri tēnei rōpū. Ko etehi o aua pouwhiriwhiri ko Victory Up, ko Ngāti Gaminga, ko Digital Natives Academy.
“Ehara i te mea he wānanga anake te hua o te kaupapa engari ko te whakapakari i ngā tauira mō te pae tawhiti e whakatata nei. He ako i ngā tauira ki te kohikohi pepa rangatira, ko te whakarite i a rātau mō ngā whakamātautau raihana ara ko te taraiwa motukā, ko te whakarākei i te tangata mō te mahi, he wāhanga hoki e pā ana ki te kori tinana, ko te tiaki i te wairua me te hinengaro he ako whakapapa, he ako whenua me ngā tātai korero a ngā tupuna me ngā atua”, hai tā Potaua.
“Nā te mea kua pā te mauri o DNA ki whaitua kē e puare ana ngā whatitoka o te mahi ki ā mātau tauira ki a hau atu ai rātau ki te awhina i ngā kaupapa o te wā e pakari hoki ai rātau mō te ao nui. Ko ētehi o ngā kaupapa ko te hāpai i te kaupapa hākinakina-E, ko te mahi tiwi, ko te matihiko ā tuhituhi, me te waihanga paetukutuku hoki”. Hai tā Matua Powell.
Rokohanga noa he mahi i waho o te takiwā o Te Waiariki, kai reira te whāinga nui. E ruku kau atu ai ngā tauira ki ngā tūnga mahi e kawe ai te mana o te mātauranga o te ao hou ki te pae o Hawaiki. “He whakawhanake i ngā moemoeā o te hunga rangatahi - e whakautu ai i te pātai nui, pewhea tō hiahia hai oranga māu? E titiro whakamua ngā kanohi ki a rua o ngā tau kai whea koe e mahi ana?
Engari ki tua rānō ki a rima o ngā tau, kai whea rā koe e mahi ana? Kia tae ai rātau ki te pae o matahauariki, ko ā mātau mahi, he awhina, he whāngai mātauranga, he tuku korero e pā ana ki ngā kame o te ao hou me ngā tini āheinga e taea ai e te tangata”. Ko ia ngā whakaaro o tō tātau rangatira a Potaua Biasiny-Tule, ko te ao o te āpōpō kai te kamunga ringaringa o te hunga rangatahi.
Rotorua non-profit Digital Natives Academy (DNA) is launching their newest programme in a brand new 1100 sqm space while taking an innovative approach to helping young people find their purpose and their path.
“We are so excited about our new programme, our amazing team and our new space. The skills we teach focus on digital and creative tech.
“We use project based activities to help reignite young people’s love of learning and our programme is hands-on and provides the key skills needed to effectively navigate digital and creative tech pathways” says co-founder and director, Nikolasa Biasiny-Tule.
The course launches on March 31 for rangatahi aged 16-24. Spaces are limited and a waitlist will be available for a July intake.
Delivery is based on Te Ao Māori worldviews with a Mātauranga Māori approach.
The Bay of Plenty was once considered the mecca of North Island inbound tourism, forestry, agriculture and primary industry opportunities and while those industries continue to play an important role, Covid made us understand the power of digital and DNA’s goal is to help harness that potential and help pathway young people into the future of work.
“Our region is in the process of reimagining and redefining itself, in terms of what we offer locally, regionally, nationally and globally. The Bay is fast becoming an epicentre for film, TV, music, animation and digital content creation as well as livestream production and esports,” says Marcus Powell, Programme & General Manager.
“These productions need techs, animators, web developers, editors, audio engineers, camera operators, content creators and managers, storytellers, photographers, graphic designers, software developers/coders, game devs, livestreamers, social media admins, comms managers as well as interns who have experience in these spaces,” he adds. Digital Native Academy’s newest programme, which is free to students, called Native Tech, emerged from the gap DNA experienced while delivering programmes to young people over the last 9 years, in particular those students most at risk of disengaging from formal education, or those who have already disengaged.
The stats are sobering, Māori represent only 4 per cent of the tech sector and demographics show that by 2030, 30 per cent of the workforce will be Māori and Pacific Islander. With the lack of local digital and creative tech pathways, the training and education opportunities in Rotorua are even more dire.
“Unless we prepare this generation for the future of work, which no doubt will have a digital element, employment opportunities for Māori will continue to lag behind”, says Potaua Biasiny-Tule, DNA co-Founder, InternetNZ executive board member and Te Komiti Whakauru Māori Chair.
Native Tech is an iteration of a successful programme developed in partnership with Morehu Ransfield, a Taranaki-based educator and Head of Department Māori and Esports, who piloted Oranga Matihiko at Spotswood College in New Plymouth over the last several years alongside DNA partner organisation, Te Papatipu Matihiko Charitable Trust, a collective of Māori orgs (Victory Up, Ngāti Gaming and Digital Natives Academy).
“Native Tech not only helps teach tech skills, we help our students prepare for their futures. Our team helps them gather their essential documents, study for their driver’s license, get work ready, focus on their fitness, health and wellbeing, learn how to manage their emotions, and importantly enhance their sense of identity and belonging by supporting them to learn about their whakapapa and whenua, their Tupuna and Atua by exploring Te Ao Māori through a digital lens”, says Mr Biasiny-Tule.
The ultimate goal for Native Tech is to help young people navigate life and grow into happy, healthy humans who are ready to take on further training, education and work opportunities. Providing meaningful work experience is a key feature of the programme.
“Because DNA works across so many regions with our partners, we are able to provide students access to meaningful work experience, helping with esports events, livestream production, and different types of content creation, including graphic design, animation and website development”, explains Mr Powell.
Key to this journey is illuminating opportunities both within Rotorua and outside our region, with those students ready to work, joining Native Industries, a digital media studio onsite which can provide professional services including graphic design, animation, illustration, branding, web development, esports event management and video editing to local, national and international businesses and organisations.
“Our goal is to help rangatahi dream, what do they want to be when they “grow up “? Where do they see themselves in 2 years, in 5? To help illuminate these pathways we introduce them to the larger digital, and creative tech ecosystem, work opportunities and day trips include visiting NZ’s top digital dev and esports studios, Telcos and a number of educational and tertiary institutes”, says Mr Biasiny-Tule.