Māori Excellence in Technology: A Pasifika Perspective.

Insights from Ngā Tohu Matihiko Awards and the State of Pasifika Tech in Aotearoa.

Talofa reader,

Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to get invited to attend ‘Ngā Tohu Matihiko | Celebrating Māori Excellence in Digital and Technology’ Awards at the Due Drop Centre, in Manukau.

The event was really well run¹. The layout, design, and production quality in the lighting, sound, and visuals were on par with some of the best events I’ve been to, including the NZ Music Awards, Rhythm & Vines main stages, NZ Homegrown, and shows at Vector Arena².

All, I imagine, on a budget much lower than those events.

This, in my opinion, is the true sign of excellence—making the most of what you have. This has been a feature of the Māori people as I’ve known them my whole life. Don’t let the news channels and newspapers' anti-Māori propaganda fool you into believing the usual rubbish about any brown community. Once you actually look into and experience people for yourself, you’ll quickly see the truth.