Nu’uali’i Eteroa Lafaele’s Post

*Domestic Tech Story RFP* Riddle me this... How is it that a NON-TECH organisation 👉🏾Auckland Business Chamber👈🏾 successfully bids for a publicly funded contract that aims to tell our TECH stories to Kiwis "to attract more people into digital technology roles.." https://lnkd.in/gRtspuKG Further to this, how does this organisation intend to engage with one of the clearly identified target audiences, namely Māori? On the latter, I reviewed the Chamber website and the optics around Māori engagement are either non-existent, hidden, or "work in progress". I wait with interest to see how the Chamber intend to engage with our Māori tech community, and of course our Māori communities in general. $3.8 Million could be perceived as a significant investment in the telling of our tech stories to New Zealanders. I sincerely hope the Chamber can find a way to effectively engage with our Māori communities, because without that first piece (engagement), the promotional and marketing activities are pointless. I say this based on lived experience and as a member of both the Māori digitech community and general Māori population. On another note, $3.8 M is not nearly enough of an investment to promote tech roles to Kiwis. We (as in central government) talk a big story (pun intended) about transitioning NZ from a primary economy to a digital economy. I'm sorry, but $3.8 M over 3.5 years probably ain't gonna do the job. Disclaimer: I am not an economist, accountant or financial analyst. However IMO more government investment is needed to enable this digital aspiration. Period. Finally, I personally will not be supporting the efforts or activities of the Domestic Tech Story as directed and funded by government. This is a matter of principle which I have been deeply affected by. IYKYK. Best of luck Auckland Business Chamber. Please prove me wrong, kia kaha koutou. Sincerely, Lee Timutimu Small Business Owner Advocate for Māori in Digitech Storyteller Raymond Otene McKay Julia Arnott-Neenee Elle Archer Bailey Mackey #theoriginalstorytellers