Tangatawhenua.com
TangataWhenua.com is an indigenous, Māori-run and Māori-operated online news and information Limited Liability Company based in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. It is the only web-based media company of its kind in the world (Tu Mai 2006). It was founded in 2002 by Potaua & Nikolasa Biasiny-Tule while students at Waikato University. The fortnightly web-based newsletter was developed during a time when there were no Māori-focused newsletters of this type. The newsletter's content provides relevant news, information and events targeted at a predominantly Māori audience.
An initial run of three brief text-based newsletters, called RANGIKAINGA, was produced in the summer of 2002, the response to which was significant. At the end of the first year the company had a subscriber base of over 1400. The company was incorporated in 2003 and soon after the domain name TangataWhenua.com was officially registered. There are currently over 5000 subscribers.
In 2005, RANGIKAINGA received a commendation from the Human Rights Commission of New Zealand for its positive contribution to race relations (Human Rights Commission 2005). In 2006, RANGIKAINGA received an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) by the National Library of New Zealand - Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa (New Zealand National Bibliography 2006), confirming its place as a periodic serial. In 2007, TangataWhenua.com began facilitating Stage 2 the Google Maori Project[1]. The aim of the project was to translate the Google Search Interface into Maori allowing users around the world to search Google totally in te reo Maori. Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Maori - the Maori Language Commission provided support. Google Maori was completed in June 2008 and launched worldwide on 23 July 2008.
The word Tangata Whenua means "People of the Land" and refers to indigenous Māori of Aotearoa New Zealand.
References and Sources
- New Zealand Herald (2008). [1]. Retrieved on 2008-9-08.
- Human Rights Commission (2005). On the Bright Side. Retrieved on 2007-1-21.
- National Library of New Zealand - Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa (2006). New Zealand National Bibliography. Retrieved on 2007-1-21.
Tu Mai (March, 2006). “Technopreneurs, a sign of the times”. Tu Mai Publishers, Auckland.
External links
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