Turuki! Turuki! Vodafone And TEDxAuckland Partner To Deliver A Kaupapa Māori Focused Event

Vodafone and TEDxAuckland are partnering to deliver a kaupapa Māori focused event this afternoon at Vodafone’s Auckland headquarters in Takapuna, entitled ‘Turuki! Turuki! A Tiriti-based approach to the future of tech’.

This event is part of the Tāpiri atu ki te ao Matihiko collective, which rallies some of Aotearoa’s most well-known businesses around shared challenges and opportunities on how to integrate Te Tiriti o Waitangi into our work, as well as grow Māori leadership in the sector and ensure ongoing access to digital technology.

Kirstin Te Wao, Pou Whakawhanake Māori (Head of Maori Development), explains this is not only a first for TEDxAuckland, but the first collaboration of its kind across Aotearoa’s “big tech” businesses.

“Vodafone is proud to stand with other technology organisations aiming to foster positive opportunities for Māori to engage in technology, and to create meaningful and enduring change grounded in a tikanga Māori approach.

“The future of work is facing massive disruption in the wake of Covid-19 and the technology industry has the opportunity to reset the industry’s culture to ensure it is more inclusive and conducive to contributions from Māori and Pacific peoples.

“This event brings together some incredibly inspiring speakers to progress this kaupapa and discuss how to deliver a Tiriti-based approach to tech. We’re livestreaming it on Facebook so that anyone in Aotearoa can access the event.”

Speakers include: Dr. Warren Williams, discussing ‘Digital Taniwha: Growing Māori participation in the IT industry’; Kaye-Maree Dunn, tech entrepreneur; and Jason Paris, Vodafone NZ CEO. The event is being facilitated by Tuihana Ohia, Founder of Woo Wellbeing.

Te Wao adds: “Developing meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships with Māori isn’t just good for the Māori sector - it’s good for Aotearoa, and for business in general. Last year Vodafone was the first Corporate to launch a policy to honour the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and we see this event as an opportunity to give effect to the principles of Rangatiratanga (agency and self-determination) and Ōritetanga (equity and participation).

“A strategic priority of Whārikihia, Vodafone’s Māori development strategy is to foster digital pathways for Māori in the sector. As a collective of large tech organisations ‘Tāpiri atu ki te ao Matihiko’ has the potential to accelerate organisational development across the collective through shared experiences, knowledge and resources, and ultimately increase Māori participation and leadership while fostering organisational culture and employee engagement.”

The event will be livestreamed from 3pm on Wednesday 5 May on Vodafone NZ social platforms, including Facebook. To watch, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/vodafoneNZ/

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