Publicity: Maori language inserts into Sesame Street

Tu Tangata, Issue 8, 1 October 1982, Page 39

Publicity: Maori language inserts into Sesame Street

The first Maori Language inserts into Sesame Street have been completed. The seven inserts of about a minutes duration each are to be tested on groups of children around N.Z. Copies of the inserts are also being sent to the Children’s Television Workshop in New York for analysis.

The Maori language inserts present very basic language with the help of two adult presenters and a group of children. Finding suitable presenters and children from Christchurch who could speak Maori were but one of the many problems faced and overcome by the production team headed by Kim Gabara, Executive Producer of Children’s and Young Person’s programmes in Christchurch.

Interviews for a presenter produced some exciting finds but the presenter had to be fluent in Maori and able to act. On camera auditions finally saw Jimmy Mac Lean and Anehera Bowen selected. They both came from the Bay of Plenty. Jimmy Mac Lean attended Ruatoki Primary School, now one of the four bilingual schools in NZ, then onto St. Stephens. He’s presently at Christchurch’s Teachers Training College.

Anehera Bowen is from Rotorua, attended Waikato University and is presently teaching at Burnside High School. Both in their early twenties they applied rather reluctantly for the position. But said Jimmy Mac Lean, “It is important that Maori be on television, to be seen to be accepted and to be heard, especially by young children because it is with them that the future of our language lies.” Says Anehera Bowen, “I was a bit hesitant about applying but I think that the language is the most important thing, without the language we are nothing and I would have hated to see this project fail because nobody was willing to stand up and do it.” This feeling of urgency and dedication to the language has also ensured support from the Maori people in Christchurch which involved many people spending their own time going over scripts, giving advice and just providing ready reference for any queries or problems. Bill Gillies, Polynesian Advisory Officer for the Department of Education

and Bill Nepia, Senior Lecturer of Maori at the University of Canterbury were co-opted as advisors and willingly spent many hours talking over what should be done and how. They also spent many hours watching Sesame Street.

Within TVNZ a lot of work was put in to produce the best possible resutls, but producing work for an already established programme with its distinctive style and pace brings its own problems.

The inserts will be shown to groups of children, both Maori speaking and non-Maori speaking, to test for effectiveness and appeal.

Groups of educators will also be asked to evaluate the first set of Maori language inserts.

The Producer Kim Gabara says, “Because were are working in such new fields, it is important that we get accurate feedback on how the inserts are recieved and to give us a positive direction for our future work.”