A new app bringing together all 21 iwi radio stations has been launched.
Photo: 123rf
The network of iwi media hubs under the name Te Whakaruruhau o Ngā Reo Irirangi Māori launched the app at Ngā Whare Waatea Marae, in Māngere, South Auckland.
The new app is called Whare Kōrero and will allow users to access live radio from all 21 iwi radio stations as well as live streams of significant cultural events.
Whakaruruhau o Ngā Reo Irirangi Māori chair Peter-Lucas Jones said it was the latest innovation from iwi media that sought to represent te ao Māori.
"The Whare Kōrero is a further step towards doing this in a way that expresses our mana motuhake and exercises our tino rangatiratanga," Jones said.
"We have built our own digital whare. A place where we can store our content safely and share it with our people, knowing that we maintain kaitiakitanga over the data."
The app also has an additional extension of mana motuhake because there is no personal or identifiable information being tracked by the app so the privacy of the users is protected.
Another development in iwi radio is that Ngāi Tahu has also introduced their own te ao Māori news website Tahu News.
Tahu News was initially brought in during lockdown last year as a trial before it became clear to iwi that the service was needed long-term.
Chief executive Arihia Bennett said it was apparent there was a need for te ao Māori online news service in Te Waipounamu.
"While our whānau is our primary audience, the aim is that all New Zealanders, wherever they are in the world, can stay connected to the issues from within the Ngāi Tahu takiwā," she said.
Julian Wilcox has been brought in as Tahu News executive producer.
"We are looking to cut against the grain and increase coverage of the issues that matter to the iwi and the takiwā and have them broadcast to Aotearoa," Wilcox said.
"Our aspiration is to grow the pool of Māori, and particularly Ngāi Tahu, working in content creation, development, curation, and presentation."