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August 2021 - Bay of Plenty Business News

From mid-2016 Bay of Plenty businesses have a new voice, Bay of Plenty Business News. This new publication reflects the region’s growth and importance as part of the wider central North Island economy.

From mid-2016 Bay of Plenty businesses have a new voice, Bay of Plenty Business News. This new publication reflects the region’s growth and importance as part of the wider central North Island economy.

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8 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS <strong>August</strong> <strong>2021</strong><br />

Digital hub brings benefits to Katikati<br />

Katikati’s new digital hub in The Centre – Pa _ tuki<br />

Manawa has fast become a hot spot for people<br />

seeking to connect and easily access the technology<br />

they need to accelerate their business, learning and<br />

participation.<br />

The hub is in the heart <strong>of</strong> Katikati<br />

and is equipped with top notch<br />

digital technologies, meeting<br />

rooms and resources.<br />

Its purpose is to provide residents<br />

<strong>of</strong> Katikati and the surrounding area<br />

with access to the digital technologies<br />

needed to adopt digital tools and learn<br />

new skills.<br />

Western <strong>Bay</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Plenty</strong> District<br />

Council’s Customer Service and<br />

Governance Manager Barbara Whitton<br />

says the digital hub has become a<br />

valuable community asset, especially<br />

for hosting workshops and training<br />

in digital skills. “We’ve had good<br />

demand for our training space, hosting<br />

everything from codeclub to basic<br />

computer skills.”<br />

Other bookings have included<br />

a ‘Better Digital Futures’ course<br />

designed to help seniors with computers<br />

and devices, and a ‘Digital Boost’<br />

workshop for local business owners<br />

to grow their digital marketing skills<br />

with social media marketing, ecommerce<br />

tips and website building skills.<br />

Barbara says, “Use <strong>of</strong> the meeting<br />

rooms and hot-desking spaces is also<br />

growing. Facilities include four bookable<br />

rooms for meeting, video conferencing<br />

and training, and 12 hot desks<br />

hireable by the half day.<br />

“The facilities are well suited to<br />

running programmes, teen studying<br />

areas, meetings, and learning in an<br />

open environment. Our team are keen<br />

to help make it happen.”<br />

The digital hub is self-service and<br />

open 24/7 for registered users. A staff<br />

member is present from 10am-12pm<br />

on weekdays to assist anyone who’s<br />

keen to check out the facilities or<br />

want to chat with staff about booking<br />

a space or the technology available.<br />

Booking for all rooms and hot<br />

desks can be made online through the<br />

Pātuki Manawa Digital Hub website<br />

www.pmdh.nz<br />

The digital hub is located in The<br />

Centre – Pātuki Manawa, 21 Main<br />

Road, Katikati.<br />

Tech Tuesday<br />

World-leading app to train teachers in<br />

Te Reo Māori<br />

<strong>Bay</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Plenty</strong> teachers now have access to<br />

a world-leading Te Reo Ma _ ori app, through<br />

a Ministry <strong>of</strong> Education initiative aimed at<br />

strengthening New Zealand’s education<br />

workforce in Te Reo.<br />

Reo Ora is a fully automated<br />

Te Reo Māori<br />

app developed by one<br />

<strong>of</strong> New Zealand’s leading linguistics<br />

and Māori language<br />

experts, Dr Rāpata Wiri (Te<br />

Arawa, Ngāti Ruapani) and<br />

built by Rotorua-based Salt +<br />

Tonic.<br />

Dr Wiri said the multi-dialect<br />

app is the only one <strong>of</strong> its<br />

kind, accepting answers in all<br />

different Māori dialects based<br />

on tribal differences.<br />

Salt & Tonic director Josh<br />

Dillner said it also features<br />

the world’s first transcription<br />

service for Te Reo by Te Hiku<br />

Media, where students can<br />

record themselves speaking<br />

and transcribe it into text.<br />

“It’s been a privilege to<br />

deliver world-class technology<br />

with a local solution at the<br />

core.”<br />

Reo Ora is working alongside<br />

Te Taumata o Ngāti<br />

Whakaue Iho Ake Trust with<br />

the Ministry <strong>of</strong> Education’s Te<br />

Ahu o Te Reo Māori initiative,<br />

with the aim <strong>of</strong> training 10,000<br />

teachers and support staff in Te<br />

Reo Māori nationally per year,<br />

including 1,000 in the <strong>Bay</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>Plenty</strong>.<br />

“Reo Ora will initially be<br />

Josh Dillner with Dr Ra _ pata Wiri showcasing the Te Reo Ma _ ori app.<br />

used to train 470 people in the<br />

wider <strong>Bay</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Plenty</strong> region,<br />

including Rotorua, across<br />

early childhood, primary<br />

and high schools,” Dr Wiri<br />

explains.<br />

The app is currently being<br />

used through Ngati Whakaue’s<br />

Māori language strategy to<br />

encourage a revitalisation <strong>of</strong><br />

the language within the iwi<br />

and is also generally available<br />

to anyone who would like to<br />

learn Te Reo Māori through<br />

www.reoora.com.<br />

Dr Wiri says there is a massive<br />

national demand for Te<br />

Reo courses. Many institutions<br />

like Te Wānanga o Aotearoa<br />

cannot cope with the demand<br />

and have long waiting lists.<br />

He explains the app is an<br />

effective way <strong>of</strong> teaching and<br />

delivering material, as well as<br />

overcoming common hurdles<br />

students face when learning a<br />

new language, such as the fear<br />

<strong>of</strong> mispronouncing a Māori<br />

word or phrase, in public.<br />

“The motivation for many<br />

students learning through the<br />

app comes from not wanting<br />

to say it wrong in front <strong>of</strong> a<br />

class.<br />

“If they’re on Zoom, they<br />

can listen; they can practice<br />

on Facebook and go at their<br />

own pace. We call it self-determined<br />

learning and it’s the<br />

new way <strong>of</strong> doing things.”<br />

The Reo Ora app supports<br />

students to become competent<br />

Te Reo Māori speakers in 12<br />

weeks by teaching the 329<br />

most commonly used words<br />

and the 30 most commonly<br />

used sentence patterns in the<br />

Māori language. These words<br />

and patterns make up 65% <strong>of</strong><br />

everyday conversation.<br />

“Ours is a formulaic<br />

method. It’s based on patterns<br />

and repetition <strong>of</strong> sentence pattern,<br />

which is the most effective<br />

way to learn a language,”<br />

Dr Wiri said.<br />

“We have taught over<br />

250 students who have completed<br />

the Level 1 course with<br />

remarkable results.”<br />

Liquid Financial Advisors<br />

owner and director Peter<br />

Moore is currently doing the<br />

Reo Ora course, motivated by<br />

his whanau history.<br />

“My grandmother spoke<br />

fluent Te Reo, then my dad<br />

was told he shouldn’t as it<br />

would impact on his ability to<br />

get ahead – it also meant I was<br />

never given the opportunity –<br />

looking back, it’s a tragedy.<br />

“So, I looked around for<br />

ages trying to find ways to<br />

learn Te Reo, researching textbooks<br />

and a range <strong>of</strong> other<br />

options. Then I came across<br />

Reo Ora.<br />

“I’ve come such a long way<br />

with this course, which is great<br />

through the app as I’m too<br />

busy to attend lectures.<br />

“Te Reo has a grammar<br />

structure that is crucial to<br />

understand – the way this<br />

course is structured has helped<br />

me to pick that up. I’ve learnt a<br />

lot. Discovering my language<br />

has been a privilege – it would<br />

have been lovely to have had<br />

the opportunity to kōrero with<br />

my grandmother,” Mr Moore<br />

said.<br />

Dr Wiri has been a Māori<br />

language lecturer within universities<br />

in New Zealand and<br />

Hawai’i for the last 30 years.<br />

During this time, he has taught<br />

thousands <strong>of</strong> students to<br />

become confident speakers <strong>of</strong><br />

Te Reo Māori.<br />

Dr Wiri shares “No reira,<br />

kia kaha ki te ako mai i to<br />

tatau reo taketake o Aotearoa!<br />

Be vigilant in learning our<br />

native language <strong>of</strong> Aotearoa/<br />

New Zealand!”<br />

He encourages everyone<br />

to practice these sayings in<br />

Māori:<br />

• Mauri tū, mauri ora! – An<br />

active life force is a healthy<br />

life force!<br />

• Mā te whakaharatau e tika<br />

ai – Practice makes perfect.

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