About this
- Location: Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), New Zealand
- Date: June 9th, 2023
The amazing Festival for the Future (unfortunately, now discontinued) was an amazing conference aimed at young people to excite them to make real change for the future. I spoke on a panel about digital equity
Check out my other mahi:
Digital Equity – Why the big divide, and how do we address it?
My first time taking the stage at Festival for the Future. In an amazing panel moderated by the amazing Pera Barrett (of Shoebox Christmas/Koha Tree), it ranged over the whole breadth of what digital inequity means for Aotearoa New Zealand.
The panel addressed why many communities lack access to digital tools and how we (as a society) can create an equitable digital future. At this time I was working as co-CEO at OMGTech! and so I emphasised the importance of digital equity in education. I used a personal story of a former student who is now working in the tech industry, using it to demonstrate the long-term impact of early access to technology. I also brought up the generational divide, noting that giving devices isn’t enough; education and trust are key for wider adoption. I wanted to encourage all the listeners to be allies and not to be selfish with knowledge, keeping it in silos.
Watch the whole discussion below