Health TV

The 2009 Supreme ‘Eye of the Needle’ Māori Innovation Icon Award has been presented to Travis O’Keefe, founder of Health TV. The prestigious biennial award was presented by the Minister of Māori Affairs, Hon Dr Pita Sharples at the ‘Atamira - Māori in the City‘ event in Auckland, an occasion which celebrates Māori creative and entrepreneurial achievement.

In describing the Eye of the Needle Awards, Dr Sharples referred to the wisdom and guidance of the first Māori King, Potatau te Wherowhero:

“Kotahi te kohao o te ngira e kuhuna ai te miro ma, te miro pango, te miro whero. I muri, kia mau ki te aroha, ki te ture, ki te whakapono. Through the eyes of the needle pass the white threads, the black threads and the red threads. Afterwards, looking to the past as you progress, hold firmly to your love, the law and your faith”.

“He encouraged us to be strong together, to value kotahitanga, while at the same time respecting the opportunity of multiple pathways. It is a message of cohesiveness, of valuing collective goals, of treasuring both unity and diversity.”

Travis (Ngāti Porou) has a strong vision that positive health and social change is possible by communicating to people when they are in a health mindset and can act immediately by enquiring about relevant services. Numerous case studies and several years of independent research have shown this to be true, with an increase in patients asking their medical professional about issues such as quitting smoking and assessing their diabetes risk. The benefits apply to all viewers. However, this type of early intervention will be particularly helpful to Māori and Pacific Island peoples, who are statistically more at risk of developing many health problems.

Competition for the Supreme ‘Eye of the Needle’ award was very strong. The Atamira - Māori in the City event recognised six others with Māori Innovation Icon awards, ranging from the work of Alan Wichman (Ngāti Porou/Rarotonga), who pioneered biological deep tissue treatment and an atomic molecular targeting system for waste water treatment, to that of Rhonda Kite (Te Aupouri) who developed a multi-lingual IT solution that is used in the global film industry, including the European dubbing of the Tom Cruise movie ‘Valkyrie’.

ATAMIRA - Māori in the City is hosted by Ngāti Whātua o Ōrakei Corporate Ltd, with support from Te Puni Kōkiri - the Ministry of Māori Development, with Auckland City Council, Waitakere City Council, Manukau City Council, University of Auckland, Aotearoa Credit Union and Ports of Auckland.