December 17, 2020
Archive spreads net for old tapes
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision has developed field kits and training so iwi can digitise audiovisual material such as cassette and videotapes that are subject to degradation.
Paul Meredith, the archive's pou arahi, says it's part of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage's Mātauranga Māori Te Awe Kotuku programme, which has been beefed up because of concerns indigenous knowledge could be threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic
Ngā Taonga will also work with iwi to tag some of its holdings with traditional knowledge labels, an internationally recognised archiving tool to assert indigenous property rights.
"We recognise iwi, hapū, whānau are the kaitiaki of the mātauranga those taonga hold so it is part of a wider endeavour to reconnect those taonga with their whānau, hapū and iwi," Mr Meredith says.
Ngā Taonga is also digitising the iconic 1970s television series Tangata Whenua, including interview material which was not included in the original six episodes.
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