Supporting Aotearoa's dynamic realm of Indigenous data science
From 25-28 August 2024, the second annual Indigidata Aotearoa Wānanga was hosted by Te Kotahi Research Institute (TKRI) in partnership with NeSI, Victoria University of Wellington, Time-evolving Data Science and Artificial Intelligence for Advanced Open Environmental Science (TAIAO), Genomics Aotearoa and the Tikanga in Technology research program.
A forum for discussion & knowledge-sharing
The aim of Indigidata Aotearoa is to build capacity amongst Māori in: Māori data science, Māori data sovereignty, Māori data ethics, and Māori data applications. The participants include Māori (tauira, kaitiaki, kaipakihi) who want to better understand the opportunities and challenges associated with māori data science, māori data sovereignty, as well as key technical, cultural and ethical issues.
This year, the wānanga brought together 15 Māori scholars from diverse backgrounds for four days of robust discussions and knowledge-sharing with some of Aotearoa New Zealand's leading researchers in data science and data sovereignty.
A YouTube playlist of the talks from this year's event can be accessed here.
NeSI contributions
Similar to last year, NeSI team members attended and co-hosted with Genomics Aotearoa a coding session on command line. Throughout the wānanga, the NeSI team was grateful for the opportunity to contribute to other workshops by providing support with training environment use and assisting with workshop activities.
To raise awareness about spreading digital skills training, we also discussed our partnership with The Carpentries, a global community dedicated to teaching foundational coding and data science skills to researchers. We also highlighted opportunities for participants to get involved and contribute.
NeSI Director Nick Jones also shared a look at some of the mahi NeSI is engaged with to support Indigenous data science and data sovereignty in Aotearoa.
Looking ahead
NeSI appreciated the opportunity to participate in the wānanga's valuable kōreros on kaupapa Māori, an insight into the wealth of mātauranga in the community and an opportunity to listen in on the successes and challenges within the research space.
Thank you to the organisers and partners who enabled this event to return for a second year and we look forward to seeing the connections and collaborations strengthened at this event continue to support Aotearoa's dynamic realm of Indigenous data science.
If you're interested in learning more about NeSI's interest and activities in this space, please get in touch.
