In just over a week, APNIC 58 will be held in Wellington, New Zealand. To celebrate APNIC 58’s host economy, on the blog and throughout the conference we’ll be looking at the Internet operations of our host economy, and its regional surrounds, in which New Zealand plays a major role. We’re starting with a brief look at APNIC 58’s local host’s work in digital inclusion.
Kia ora koutou,
On behalf of InternetNZ / Ipurangi Aotearoa, it’s our pleasure to host APNIC 58 in Te Whanganui-a-tara / Wellington, Aotearoa / New Zealand. The event is a time to come together, share ideas, and reflect on the collective efforts we’re making to secure the global interoperability of the Internet. In this post, I’d like to share some thoughts on digital inclusion in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Digital inclusion
Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi is a living document fundamental to the relationship between Māori and ‘Tangata Tiriti’ (People of the Treaty) and other people in New Zealand. Te Tiriti influences all aspects of life in Aotearoa.
Since I became CEO of InternetNZ in late 2022, the organization has been undergoing a process to centre Te Tiriti o Waitangi in our organization and in our work. We believe that this is intrinsic to progress in digital inclusion.
As guardians of the .nz domain name system, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and therefore partnership with Tangata Whenua (People of the Land), is central to how we operate. We place importance on developing relationships, and working in partnership with Māori, by ensuring that money we distribute and invest in communities recognizes Māori partners and their role in local communities.
Until recently, our government shared this aspiration, but it’s now unclear what the future holds for government-funded and resourced digital inclusion initiatives. That makes our own plans and commitments to digital inclusion more important than ever. It makes our relationships with other funders in this space critical and it places responsibility on us, as a CCTLD, to continue to work towards an Internet that benefits everyone in Aotearoa.
Infrastructure that supports digital inclusion
One of the things I appreciate about InternetNZ is its role in managing the .nz domain name system on behalf of all New Zealanders. We often describe ourselves as Aotearoa New Zealand’s home on the Internet, emphasizing a commitment to ensuring that everyone has access, feels safe, and is included in the commercial, economic, social, or educational purposes and uses of the Internet.
We see it as a responsibility to reinvest the revenue generated from managing the critical Domain Name System and the sale of .nz domain names to improve the Internet for people in Aotearoa. Our aim is to encourage collaboration among industry, governments, and communities to make the Internet fair and equitable for everyone, and we support these efforts through our grants and funding programs.
We feel that the governance of the Internet — the way it’s run at the technical level — needs to feed down into the way that the citizen and Internet user experiences life online.
Every year our Internet Insights survey canvasses the online attitudes and behaviours of 1,000 New Zealanders. Year after year, we see that Māori and other minority groups are disproportionately affected by the negative aspects of the Internet.
In the last year, InternetNZ / Ipurangi Aotearoa distributed NZD 1.2m in community funding to enhance people’s online access, understanding, and safety. Across all funding, a total of NZD 431,645 or 35.97% went to Māori organizations or individuals.
Investment is prioritized back into communities through partnerships and a grants program. The community actively contributed to shaping our funding approach and goals, ensuring they align with community needs. For example:
- Building evaluation capabilities among the digital equity ecosystem, so that we can more easily learn what works and what doesn’t.
- Funding website accessibility initiatives.
- Doubling community funding distribution in 2020, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Taking a more proactive approach to connecting with groups who need support and empowering them through trust and flexibility.
See you in Wellington soon!
Ipurangi Aotearoa / InternetNZ is the local host for APNIC 58, running 30 August – 6 September 2024. We look forward to meeting you in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, where we can further discuss digital inclusion and more Internet operations details.
Vivien Maidaborn is Tumu Whakarae / CEO of Ipurangi Aotearoa / InternetNZ.
Vivien will share welcome remarks at the APNIC 58 Opening Ceremony and Keynotes session, where you’ll also hear from keynote speakers Robyn Kāmira and Jonathan Brewer. Robyn will share stories from the frontline, exploring remote community’s journey from mobile connectivity to disconnection, emphasizing the need for true resilience through reducing dependencies, fostering self-sustaining communities, and building a skilled Māori tech workforce to lead and innovate in New Zealand’s tech economy. Jonathon will discuss New Zealand’s vibrant independent provider ecosystem and detail how these networks have been bringing fast and commercially sustainable broadband to rural and remote regions.
Later in the week, InternetNZ’s Whitiaua Ropitini will also join a panel discussion on disaster resilience focusing on the need for robust infrastructure and mitigation plans in the Pacific region.
The views expressed by the authors of this blog are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of APNIC. Please note a Code of Conduct applies to this blog.