Big change in Internet could see Maori names (fwd)

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Big change in Internet could see Maori names

Monday, 7 July 2008, 9:52 am
Press Release: New Zealand Maori Internet Society

PRESS RELEASE
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0807/S00012.htm

First big change in Internet for 40 years could see Maori names in the future

ICANN the oversight organisation for the Internet, relaxed rules in Paris this
week to permit the introduction of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of new Internet
domain names to join ".com," making the first sweeping changes in the network's
25-year-old address system. The new additions will include non English
characters.

Ross Himona pioneer Maori on the Internet and Kaumatua of NZMIS regarded this as
step forward.
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"It has been a long time coming we just hope that associated set up costs for
Top Level Domain names will be affordable not only for Maori but for all
Indigenous Peoples worldwide" said Himona

Karaitiana Taiuru Chairman of the New Zealand Maori Internet Society(NZMIS)
welcomes the news.

Taiuru said " It is the first time in Internet history non English cultures can
potentially be represented on the Internet with their mother tongue. It is also
the first time that Maori do not have to solely rely on the relationship of the
New Zealand Internet authority we have been concerned for a long time that
InternetNZ had set policy that has had no place for the Maori language despite
its official status in this country"

Taiuru continues " To have InternetNZ accept the creation of .maori.nz in 2002
took 5 years and was declined twice since 1997, rewriting the original .iwi.nz
policy to make it accessible to all Iwi took several more years"

Teanau Tuiono an executive officer of NZMIS believes that associated ICANN
bureaucracies should fall in line with accepted domestic practices particularly
when in the case of the Maori language it is enshrined in legislation.

Tuiono added " The introduction of the Declaration on the Rights of the
Indigenous Peoples at the international level could serve as a guidelines for
ICANN and associated bodies on how they deal with the numerous issues facing
Indigenous Peoples. At the World Summit of the Information Society of which
ICANN where they were an active participant the summit emphasised the role of
Indigenous Peoples with the inclusion of Article 15 as a part of that Summits
Declaration"

WSIS DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES Article 15 reads 'In the evolution of the
Information Society, particular attention must be given to the special
situation of indigenous peoples, as well as to the preservation of their
heritage and their cultural legacy'

The ICANN decision to permit new domain names will now mean that Maori can
essentially create their own equivalent of .com and then establish a whole new
maori naming hierarchy including a bilingual domain name system macrons and
even tribal representations.

ENDS

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