How Spark Helped NZ Learn Māori

“Whilst te reo Māori has steadily seen an increase in a number of revitalisation efforts across New Zealand—especially in recent years—actual te reo learning opportunities remain limited and sometimes inaccessible,” writes Faaez Samadi in an article for Campaign Asia. As part of Te Wiki o te reo Māori (Māori Language Week) 2018, Spark partnered with Te Aka Māori Dictionary and Google to launch Kupu: an app designed to support the revitalisation of te reo Māori.

Their “proposition was simple: take a photo, learn a language. The goal was equally as simple: encourage Kiwis to download Kupu and explore the world around them with it. Using Google Cloud Vision and Google Translate APIs, supported by Te Aka Māori Dictionary data, Kupu lets users see the te reo Māori translations for pictures they take on their phone,” writes Samadi.

“Bite-sized language learning that fits our daily habits is the benefit,” said Mike Davison, creative director at ColensoBBDO, who partnered with Spark for the campaign.

“But the long-term collaboration with the best technology, Māori language and digital platform experts our country has; that’s what has made this project humbling and memorable.”

Article Source: Campaign Asia, Faaez Samadi, October 16 2018

Image Source: Youtube