SouthTech Innov8 2022

Southtech Innov8 2022 is about addressing the digital technology divide that exists for our Māori & Pasifika people particularly in South Auckland but also for others in regions such as West Auckland.

Building on the hugely successful southtechweek19-XLR8 event we wish to:
• Harness the potential of our tamariki, rangatahi and whanau haua in the digital innovation space, as a means to provide an avenue for them to learn, participate and excite them in digital tech and innovation.
• Tap into the innate Māori innovation gene that we inherited from our tīpuna since the time our tīpuna arrived on these shores.

We have various examples within te ao Māori around our ability to innovate. An example is Māui who was both an innovator and a disruptor. We wanted to tap into that innovative gene that we have – to get our tamariki, rangatahi, and whānau into the digital innovation space. We’re aware that the digital space is growing, and is the future of work so involving our rangatahi Maori/Pasifika we believe will be of benefit for Māori and the wider community. It will support learning outcomes, social outcomes, economic outcomes, and also environmental outcomes.
We believe having a series of south based workshops and activations scheduled June 30th and July 1st 2022 can be a catalyst to excite, inspire and provide a portal for tamariki, rangatahi and whānau to:
• Gain a snapshot of the digital innovation space and the future of work
• Expose them to some of our digital innovators, leaders, and practitioners
• Enable them to connect with and forge relationships with innovators, leaders, and practitioners
• Enable them to investigate how they can pathway into the digital space in both an educational and potentially a career capacity
• Inspire them to study, learn, and mahi in the digital space (whilst retaining or learning more about their cultural heritage – and know that the two can co-exist rather than be viewed as mutually exclusive domains)
• Showcase our Māori (and others) digital innovators, leaders, and practitioners
• Get a snapshot of the cool stuff happening on the global stage
• Share and tell our unique stories in the digital space

We don’t see this as just a one-off event, we see this as providing a portal to other ongoing possibilities eg collaborating and taking the digital innovation into schools and marae that don’t currently have a digital programme (some schools out south have limited digital resources, capacity, etc), creating relationships between the schools and the digital innovators and leaders, looking at potential opportunities for tamariki and rangatahi to pathway into the digital space and their career opportunities. We hope to excite, stimulate and promote the trajectory of career pathways apparent for our innovative rangatahi to attain, and this event is a great platform for our existing Maori Innovators to showcase what is indeed possible.

SouthTech Innov8 2022 is supported by the Local Activation Fund Programme, administered by Tataki Auckland Unlimited on behalf of the New Zealand Government.