Katahi anō ka whakaihuwaka te taupānga o Kawe Kōrero i ngā tohu SOLGM
Waikato Regional Council’s cultural intelligence app Kawe Kōrero has taken out the Supreme Award at the annual SOLGM
Local Government Excellence Awards.
The app was launched last September after being developed specifically to help staff, councillors and other councils to
confidently and effectively communicate in partnerships with iwi and Māori. It zeros in on basic Māori language use,
pronunciation and protocols. Key features include waiata, mihimihi, karakia and video.
At last night’s ceremony in Auckland the app won the Capability Group Award for Innovation in Council – Community
Relations. It then went on to win the overall 2018 McGredy Winder SOLGM Local Government Excellence Awards® Supreme
Award.
Judges described Kawe Kōrero, meaning to ‘spread the word’, as fundamental to local government andrecognised its
innovation in information sharing and easy to use features.
Council chief executive Vaughan Payne said: “This is well deserved recognition of our Kawe Kōrero team who put a lot of
effort into ensuring the app was innovative, informative and easy to use.”
Kawe Kōrero is an initiative resulting from the council’s Māori partnership approach, which has a key focus of growing
the council’s capability and confidence to effectively partner with iwi Māori.
In the first six months the promotional video has been viewed more than 50,000 times and shared more than 7000 times.
The app has now been downloaded to just over 4100 devices, including in Australia and Europe (4 per cent of downloads).
“This shows it’s a unique app and there is a real need and desire for it,” said Mr Payne.
Council chair, Alan Livingston, agreed. “It can be daunting to attend a pōwhiri or step on to a marae if you don’t know
the customs or protocols,” he said.
“Having been in this situation myself over years of public service, I am extremely proud our organisation has led the
way and in doing so displayed dedication and professionalism in this space of promoting Māori language and protocols.”
Waikato Regional Council contracted the expert digital skills of Kiwa Digital, to attain the desired level of
interactive content full of visual and audio examples. Parts of the app can also be personalised, such as writing a
self-populating pepeha (what you might say when you are introducing yourself to a group of people).
The app supports a wide group of users and allows people to learn at their own pace. It is also being continuously
developed and improved.
Check out the promotional video at this link: https://youtu.be/mqPXmUewlpo
Katahi anō ka whakaihuwaka te taupānga o Kawe Kōrero i ngā tohu SOLGM
Katahi anō ka whakawhiwhia ki te Kaunihera ā Rohe o Waikato te taonga tiketike i te pō tuku taonga o SOLGM mō te
taupānga whakaako reo, whakamārama tikanga, a Kawe Kōrero.
I whakarewaina te taupānga e kōrerotia nei i te marama o Mahuru i te tau kua hori, hei rauemi hāpai i ngā kaimahi me ngā
kaikaunihera kia pai tā rātau mahi ngātahi me ngā iwi puta noa. Ka hāngai te aro o ngā kōrero ki te whakatakoto o te
reo, te whakahua tika i ngā kupu, me te whakamārama i ngā tikanga Māori. Ko ētahi o ngā tino o te taupānga nei ko ngā
waiata, ngā mihimihi me ngā kiriata.
Ka whakanuia te taupānga ki te tohu Capability Group Award for Innovation in Council – Community Relations i te pō tuku
tohu ki Tāmaki Makaurau ināpō. Kātahi ka hua mai ko ia hei toa whānui, ka tohua ki te tohu 2018 McGredy Winder SOLGM
Local Government Excellence Awards® Supreme Award.
He rauemi tūāpapa a Kawe Kōrero mā ngā kaunihera katoa o te motu te kī a te tira whakawā, ā, he rauemi e kuhu ana ki te
ao hāngarau hou, he mea tuku mātauranga, he mea māmā rawa ki te raweke hoki.
E ai ki te toihau o te kaunihera a Vaughan Payne: “E tika ana kia whiwhi te rōpū i hanga i a Kawe Kōrero tēnei honore
nui, nā rātou te mahi nui kia kounga tēnei taupānga”.
He kaupapa tēnei i hua mai i tētahi rautaki a te kaunihera nei e aro ana ki ta mātou tūhono ki ngā iwi Māori, ā, ko tāna
e whai nei kia whakapakari ake i tā te kaunihera ahei ki te mahi ngātahi me ngā iwi.
I roto i ngā marama e ono he 50,000 neke atu ngā mātaitanga i te kiriata whakatairanga, he 700 ōna tuaritanga. I tikiake
te taupānga e 4100 neke atu, ko ētahi o taua hunga rā kei Ahitareiria, kei Ūropi (4 ōrau tikiake)
“He hua tēnei o te motuhaketanga me te hiahia o tēnei taupānga”, te kī a Vaughan Payne.
E whakaae ana te heamana o te kaunihera, a Alan Livingston. “It can be daunting to attend a pōwhiri or step on to a marae if you don’t know the customs or protocols.
“Having been in this situation myself over years of public service, I am extremely proud our organisation has led the
way and in doing so displayed dedication and professionalism in this space of promoting Māori language and protocols.”
I mahi tahi Te Kaunihera ā Rohe ō Waikato ki a Kiwa Digital, kia eke te kounga o te taha hāngarau o te taupānga nei ki
tērā i manakotia. He wāhanga hoki e motuhake ai tō te tangata waihanga i āna kōrero, pēnei i tō pepeha ake.
He mea taunaki te taupānga nei i te tokomaha, kia pai ai tana ako ahakoa te wāhi, te wā rānei. Haere an ate wā, ka āta
whanaketia hoki te taupānga nei.