From our Chapter President
Tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā koutou katoa
In the midst of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori 2021, please bear with me as I attempt to honour yesterday’s Maori Language Moment promise.
We’ve been sending thoughts to all of you as you navigate the impacts and uncertainties (not to mention the smothering facemasks!) of the various current lockdown levels on you, your whānau, hoamahi and kiritata. If, like me, you’re one of the very fortunate who has a tuanui over your head, kai on your table, a rorohiko of your own and “endless wifi” to support professional and personal demands, spare a thought for the thousands of rangatahi, their whānau and kaiako who are dealing with the daily realities of the digital divide and the rising threat of long term impacts of educational inequity for rangatahi throughout Aotearoa.
Some of you may have heard of DigiTautua, a kaupapa initiated by Eteroa Lafaele, winner of the Prime Minister’s Pacific Youth Science (STEM) Award. Eteroa is working to generate donations of funding and equipment to provide laptops to school students who are disadvantaged by lack of access to a device and the internet. If you missed it on the news last night, read more about Eteroa and DigiTautua here.
Educate Plus members are givers – creating positive differences in the lives of others is the thread that binds us all together. If any of you or the institution where you work would be prepared to support the worthwhile mahi of DigiTautua please contact Eteroa Lafaele direct , go to the Givealittle page or, if you’d be prepared to contribute to a joint effort across Educate Plus members, email me at vicki@connectfutures.org.nz.
We hope that those of you who were able to join the Educate Plus Three Day Online Non Conference Series last week received value from the sessions offered. If you missed out, there’s always plenty more special interest webinars to look forward to – check out the impressive selection of webinars and other resources in the Member Resources section of the website or the Upcoming Events page. Our thanks to Sona, Sheila, Tina, Neil and Michelle at Head Office for all their hard work that makes these professional development opportunities available to members throughout Australasia.
For Aotearoa Chapter members based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Waikato, central Te Ika-a-Māui, Te Whanganui-a-Tara and Ōtutahi we’re working on setting dates for another round of member networking “meet-ups” featuring guest speakers so keep an eye on your inboxes!
In closing, if you know of anybody who may be interested in the Educate Plus CEO vacancy please see the article here. Our thanks to NZ Committee member Jennifer Roshan and Chapter Manager Kate Eatts for their mahi on this e-news. Ngā mihi maioha.
Hei konā mai. Noho ora mai.
Vicki
P.S. If you could use a comprehensive guide to greetings, sign-offs and acknowledgements in te reo Māori – here’s a link to the best reference I’ve ever come across, courtesy of one of our Educate Plus NZ member institutions – kia ora University of Auckland!
