Wednesday, 11 February 2026
6.00 pm - 7.30 pm
Online via Zoom
10 NAATI recertification points
How can translation serve as a meeting place between languages, cultures, and worldviews?
How might Māori concepts of exchange reshape how we understand literary translation today?
In this webinar, Austin Haynes will explore how Māori intellectuals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries encountered and remade Shakespeare for themselves through translation. Looking closely at the translations of Māori intellectuals such as Rēweti Kōhere (1871 - 1954) and Pei Te Hurinui Jones (1898 - 1976).
Austin will discuss how key Māori concepts such as hau (vital essence), manaaki (to uphold and nourish), and taonga (ancestral treasure) shaped early approaches to translation and cultural exchange. Through his research, Austin will reveal how translation functioned as a form of kin-based exchange, connecting te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā in complex, reciprocal ways. Austin will also reflect on his own ongoing project to translate all of Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets into te reo Māori.
This session offers translators and interpreters an opportunity to reflect on how language, culture, and ethics intertwine, and to locate their own practice within a long whakapapa of translation in Aotearoa. Relevant across community, legal, literary, and Māori language contexts, it also invites anyone interested in how culture and meaning move between worlds to deepen their understanding of the ethical and cultural dimensions of translation.
You can join us live or watch the recording at a later date. Please note: the recording will only be provided to registered participants.
The Zoom link will be sent to registered participants one day before the event. If you have not received the link, please email [email protected] for assistance (during business hours on weekdays only). Please check your spam email first.
This event is eligible for PD points according to the NAATI recertification catalogue category 1.5.
Registration for this event will close at 11.59 pm on Monday, 9 Feb 2026