The Ngā Pūmanawa e Waru Education Trust hopes to pilot a project that will see Marae in Te Arawa become WIFI-enabled. Mercia Yates says their E-Marae concept will look at the use of internet fiber and provide internet to those living near Marae in Rotorua.
Te Roro o Te Rangi Marae has been chosen to pilot the project to look at how the internet can be made more accessible to the marae.
“We want Marae to be able to access technology within our school's children have the ability to connect to the internet by using WIFI,” says Yates.
Access to the internet has increased in New Zealand since the Government invested $2 billion into its fiber optic program which allows for faster internet connection. Ngā Pumanawa e Waru is an Educational Trust which helps Marae in Rotorua better access the internet for education.
E-Marae project facilitator for Ngā Pūmanawa e Waru Mercia Yates says “they hope to use the Ministry of Education's fiber optic at local schools in Rotorua to enable WIFI access on the marae. Mercia Yates says they are still in discussions with the Ministry about the move.
Over 20 Marae in Te Arawa will benefit should the pilot program be successful.