I was going to alter this, but it felt wrong on so many levels. So. Many.

Call for assistance!

I am working on a Web project as part of the University of Waikato Department of Computing and Mathematical Sciences. The project is called Huri Whatatu / Jury Room; an online discussion and consensus building platform with the explicit aim of including culturally approriate practices for Māori.

The keen eyed among you may notice that I myself do not fall into this group. In the last few days I have tried desperately to find anyone willing to collaborate with me on the look and feel of this site in a way the both represents and is respectful of Māori culture and practices. This search has been only minimally successful (read: a dismal failure). I have done my best (which isn’t bad if I do say so myself. Which I must because I can’t find anyone to offer an opinion). But see above for why I may not be the best person for this.

I’m not really comfortable being the person deciding what maori representation on the internet should look like. So, in my desperation I turn to you, linkedin users: Are you someone who is/knows/knows someone who knows/met someone in a bar once who said they might know someone who knows someone who might be interested in offering feedback, advice, or even proactive help on this project?

If so, please contact me ASAP. Thats As Soon As Possible, if not sooner.

There is a prototype is of the site live at http://huriwhakatau.ac.nz/ so any prospective collaborators can view and critique.

My sincerest thanks to anyone who responds or shares this request.