The New Zealand Tech Alliance is a group of independent technology associations from across New Zealand that work together to ensure a strong voice for technology.
Visit Tech AllianceDigital Council for Aotearoa New Zealand #weeknotes (19)
By Mitchell Pham, Chair of the Digital Council for Aotearoa New Zealand.
Last week our research project into trust and automated decision-making continued, we met with Digital Identity New Zealand and attended the CIO Summit. We also farewelled some team members and welcomed a new senior communications adviser to our team.
Research interviews and workshops
Last week our research partner, Toi Āria, talked to a variety of non-government organisations (NGO) and advocacy groups to organise research interviews and workshops.
We want to boost the voices of those less heard, and most likely to be negatively impacted by automated decision-making, including Māori, Pasifika, refugees and migrants, youth and disabled peoples.
With this in mind, we’re really pleased to have a workshop booked in Christchurch with VOYCE — Whakarongo Mai, an NGO who advocate for young people in care.
Understanding the lives and views of young people who have experienced serious upheavals will help inform our final recommendations to the government. We will keep you posted on the workshops taking place around the country as they are confirmed.
Meeting with Digital Identity New Zealand (DINZ)
A couple of weeks ago, Andrew Weaver from DINZ wrote about the insights from their Identity and Trust 2020 research.
Last week we caught up to look at what to do next. We want to further explore the data on trust, and how trust is built online, to tease out the relationship people have with brands and bricks and mortar stores in the digital world.
We also plan to look more deeply at the qualitative research DINZ did with Māori, Pasifika, and disabled peoples to inform our own research on trust and automated decision making.
DINZ will run an exploratory session with us, and others like Internet NZ shortly. They’re also hosting a session at this year’s NetHui (as are we) where everyone is welcome.
Conferences & outreach
Last week, our chair Mitchell Pham presented on the topic of ‘technology for everyone’s benefit’ at the CIO Summit 2020 from the organiser’s Auckland studio.
It was a great experience with plenty of interesting questions from MC, David Downs, also General Manager at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE).
Thanks to everyone who tuned in.
Mitchell will talk again at The Economic Times DataCon virtual summit on Wednesday evening. This time he will share insights from the Digital Council’s work and New Zealand on the panel for ‘big data and the Internet of things’ alongside:
- Tye Hayes, CTO, City of Atlanta
- Jaymin Darbari, Head — Data Governance, Department of Culture & Tourism, Abu Dhabi
- Daniel Jeavons, GM — Data Science, Shell
- Martin Treder, Data Evangelist, Author
- Pradeep Menon, Group CTO — Data & Analytics Technology, HSBC.
KPMG India’s Feroz Khan will moderate the discussion.
Farewells & welcome
Finally, last week we farewelled our wonderful Secretariat lead Jill McKenzie who set up the Digital Council and who has done an outstanding job in her time with us. We also said goodbye to the fantastic Jacqui Gibson, our communications adviser. We want to thank Jill and Jacqui for the amazing support they have provided to the Digital Council. Both Jill and Jacqui have been an integral part of the Digital Council team and we will all dearly miss their positivity and sensible guidance.
But as we say goodbye to two amazing colleagues, we wish to warmly welcome Judy Cochrane into the Digital Council Secretariat. We are really looking forward to working with Judy and getting to know her better.