ANZLF Welcomes The Launch Of The Kalinda Tiaki Foundation

The Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF) warmly welcomed today’s launch of the Kalinda Tiaki Foundation to address barriers to entry for Indigenous people into the Information Technology sector in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Foundation was launched with a signing ceremony in Sydney attended by industry and partner representatives and the New South Wales Minister for Skills and Training, the Hon. Alister Andrew Henskens SC MP, who is also the State’s Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology.

ANZLF Indigenous Business Co-chair for Australia, Laura Berry, said "the founders of the Kalinda Tiaki Foundation identified that a common problem facing Indigenous people in both countries was how to get into well paid jobs in the IT sector without a university degree. It is very exciting that Indigenous students will be able to go through the Foundation’s education programmes in both countries and emerge with the necessary qualifications to get into this fast expanding sector where there is a clear shortage of talent, especially Indigenous talent."

ANZLF Indigenous Business Co-chair for Aotearoa New Zealand, Traci Houpapa MNZM said "We are delighted that this joint project between Kalinda IT and Tiaki came about from connections forged between the two Chief Executives, Michael Dickerson and Duane Grace, in the ANZLF Indigenous Business Sector Group. It is exactly the sort of Indigenous business collaboration that we hoped to see emerge when the Indigenous Business Sector Group was established in 2018 and following the ANZLF Virtual Indigenous Trade and Connections event in early 2021. We see a lot of scope for further collaboration in the Indigenous technology and innovation and trade and export areas."

ANZLF Aotearoa New Zealand Co-chair Greg Lowe said, "The formation of the Kalinda Tiaki Foundation shows what can be done when Indigenous Australian and Māori business leaders come together and find ways to leverage their respective strengths for mutual benefit, in this case Tiaki’s expertise in Indigenous education and Kalinda IT’s expertise in technology. In addition to their shared vision for Indigenous business growth and complementary skill sets, the founders share similar cultural values which made it easy to develop a shared business model."

ANZLF Australia Co-Chair Pip Marlow said "We hope the Kalinda Tiaki Foundation is the first of many Indigenous business collaborations between our two countries. It shows the power of personal connections which the ANZLF seeks to foster. We look forward to encouraging more such projects when the ANZLF meets in person in Sydney on 7-8 July 2022."

About the ANZLF:

The ANZLF brings together business and government leaders to help Australia and New Zealand prosper. The ANZLF meets annually or biannually, bringing together leaders from business and government with the aim of further developing the trade and economic relationship. The ANZLF was established in 2004 and is widely recognised as a key platform for building a stronger bilateral relationship.

The ANZLF is steered by the Australian and New Zealand Co-Chairs, Pip Marlow and Greg Lowe ONZM. They are supported by business leaders on both sides of the Tasman who oversee business-led Sector Groups focused on Indigenous Business, Tourism, Infrastructure, Health Technology and Innovation as well as cross- cutting issues such as economic challenges post COVID19, international trade, digital connections and climate change. The ANZLF Indigenous Business Sector Group is Co-Chaired by Laura Berry and Traci Houpapa MNZM and focuses on building stronger economic relationships and partnership between Australia and New Zealand.

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