Denis Opudo
Cook Islands Maori is a new website series that documents importance for indigenous culture and traditional knowledge. Its primary aim is to preserve both culture and knowledge for future generation. Cook Islands Maori was lucky to win a grant from Pacific Youth Leadership. The funds went to its arm Paruru Production.
Paruru Production was happy to secure the funding to assist them in their project. The project is named Documenting Traditional Knowledge through Digital Media. According to Liam Kokaua, the web had completed working on the trailer of the series known as Aorangi. He added that they were looking forward to releasing it before the end of this year. Mr. Kokaua said that the website was still sourcing for a platform on which to share the series. He said that they still have a room for more support more so from individuals based in New Zealand.
Kokaua said that they were waiting for five short films that last for 10 to 15 minutes that looks at various eco-systems. Additionally, the film should divide the Cook Islands Aorangi into multiple sections. Furthermore, they should cover the traditional knowledge connected with the different areas. Apart from documenting the knowledge, they should also encourage the Islands youth to look for more information about the traditions and even put them in practice. Mr. Kokaua together with Joshua Baker presented the project in Aukland at the US funding grant.
