One stop online access to cultural information
Prime Minister and Minister for Arts, Culture, and Heritage Helen Clark today launched the project to develop an
internet portal to connect and project New Zealand's cultural sector.
Helen Clark said the cultural internet portal will allow New Zealanders and intending international visitors to access
information and experiences in ways that are not possible at the moment.
"New Zealand’s digital cultural content is currently unconnected. Much of it can only be found – despite Google – if one
already knows where to look. This portal will help connect up cultural content, drawing it together from a range of
different websites," Helen Clark said.
"An integrated, user-friendly portal will make it much easier for information to be accessed quickly by New Zealanders
and by those overseas who are planning to visit. Research suggests that the profile of New Zealand culture and its
products among potential travellers from offshore is still low. Yet authentic cultural experiences are what many in
Tourism New Zealand's target market of interactive travellers are looking for.
"The portal will be carefully built up over the next four years, and a cultural events and activities website should be
online by July next year. This website will be a central feature of the portal, with information sorted by region, date,
or activity.
"The following three years will see the content extended and enriched. The material already within the portal will
increasingly be linked outwards to other sites and other repositories of cultural information.
"The portal will include research on New Zealand culture and cultural identity through access to the Dictionary of NZ
Biography, NZHistory.net, and Te Ara: the online encyclopedia of New Zealand.
"There will be links to organisations including Te Papa, the NZSO, the Historic Places Trust, the Royal New Zealand
Ballet, and Archives New Zealand. The portal will provide access to New Zealand broadcasters and links to local and
regional cultural institutions such as art galleries and museums," Helen Clark said.
The government has invested $3.6 million, as part of its Digital Strategy, to develop the cultural portal.