Scholarships for Sign-Language Interpreters who Speak Te Reo Maori

In 2003 three new scholarships are being offered to people interested in providing sign-language interpretation services in settings where te reo Mäori is spoken. The new scholarships aim to help improve access, for deaf Mäori, to educational opportunities in language immersion settings.

Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and the Deaf Association of New Zealand (DANZ) will administer and promote the scholarships. People wanting more information should contact Daniel Hanks, at the AUT School of Languages, daniel.hanks@aut.ac.nz.

Deaf Mäori often experience cultural isolation from their whänau and the broader Mäori community because they cannot communicate in te reo Mäori. Only one of the 45 qualified sign-language interpreters working in New Zealand is fluent in te reo Mäori.