Launched late last year, the Te Arawa-based Māori newspaper, Māngai Nui - Voices of Te Arawa has now made the move to a fully digital platform.
The monthly newspaper, which was a part of the Rotorua Daily Post, aimed to give whānau, hapū and iwi the opportunity to tell their stories.
Recently, it was announced that the newspaper has now developed into a brand new website, which will enable Te Arawa kaupapa to reach out even further to descendants living in Aotearoa and abroad.
Administrative Manager for Māngai Nui, Ashleigh Grant says, “The new Māngai Nui website is a celebration of all things Te Arawa – from leadership, health, youth, events, whenua, whakapapa, fashion and business though to opinion, kai, inspiration and information.”
The team behind the website comprise experienced journalists, media personalities, lecturers, writers and storytellers.
Grant says as a team, these people, "Felt the need to come together to develop an interactive and engaging platform that will reflect and respond to the diversity of our communities.”
“Te Arawa is witnessing amazing growth across a multitude of areas, so Māngai Nui is a well-timed and well-placed platform, able to bring all of these stories together in one place. We know there are more than 43,000 descendants of Te Arawa and many felt home sick or wanted to stay connected; this website will help whānau share events, exchange panui, raise important issues and highlight talent within our iwi,” adds Grant.
The next few months will see Māngai Nui expand into new platforms such as mobile and video and as Grant explains, "It will present new contributors from throughout our iwi, who will share their views and their voices with all whānau. We are also putting together a series of communications packages and hope to collaborate with our Iwi entities, whānau businesses and those seeking to engage with Te Arawa."
The brand new Māngai Nui website can be found here.