Description:

The Treaty of Waitangi is the founding document of New Zealand. It is the agreement signed between the Maori chiefs (indigenous people) and the British Crown (Pakeha) in 1840 to begin a journey in creating a nation together. Now, New Zealand has become a culturally diverse country, a wide range of ethnic groups have been encouraged to settle here and it is now much more multicultural. Today, the Treaty governs the relationship between Maori indigenous people and everyone else.

New Zealand’s cultural heritage is very rich and Maori culture is a big part of NZ’s identity. However, Māori culture and the Treaty have never been an integral part of the research scope in the study of acculturation of migrants who move to NZ in order to settle down and call it home.

My proposed solution is a digital platform (mobile app) which allows people to read the treaty, sign it and share it. An intriguing and creative platform for migrants to show their respect towards the Treaty and the Indigenous Maori community by putting their mark on it, to acknowledge and give their approval. Users can do so by writing their name via finger touch enabled canvas in the mobile app.

The medium for users to get to know about the platform (App) are the QR code posters on various public places. The teaser campaign with intriguing questions (call to action) with a QR code, which will redirect the user to the web app.

I am an immigrant from India, arrived in 2016, now settled here as a permanent resident. My objective is to encourage newcomers in this country (like myself) to know and respect the Indigenous community / culture of the place. When I first arrived in this beautiful country, I didn’t have any source to learn and understand the Treaty and the position of Maori community and language. Which kept me unaware and ignorant towards the values and traditions of their heritage. This kind of platform is mutually beneficial for both the sides, Immigrants as well as the Maori community. It is a way of exchanging respectful relationship between two.

The aim of this project is to give a platform to newcomers to learn about the NZ’s Treaty and its cultural heritage and give their affirmation in order to reassure their identity in a new country. This will integrate them better as a part of the community and also to show their respect to this newfound community that they are building.