Meri Kirihimete me te Hape Nū Ia! (Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!)

Welcome to the last DINZ newsletter of the 2020 (Gregorian) calendar year. Recognising that as with ideas of identity, our marking of time and seasons is very much based on our cultural and sometimes geographical context. We’ll avoid the temptation to contemplate fake snow and warmly-clothed grey bearded characters, and instead focus on things such as the beautiful pōhutukawa bringing colour and joy to our Aotearoa landscape.
 
Reflecting on the theme of international diversity and context, we welcome you all to appreciate and share the video session Bianca Lopes prepared for our November Aotearoa Digital Identity Hui. In it she explored how five different countries have tackled the opportunities and challenges of developing digital identity ecosystems. It’s a great reminder of the importance of cultural context, and was a perfect springboard for our kapa kōrero session exploring identity from a Te Ao Māori perspective. 
 
In the same link you can also watch an up-to-the minute update of the work of the Digital Identity Transition Programme, featuring Director Alan Bell and Emma O’Connell. We are excited about the ecosystem potential as a New Zealand Trust Framework and accreditation system starts to take shape.
 
Our Annual Meeting was last week, and we had the pleasure of congratulating and welcoming our newly-elected Executive Council members Russell Craig (Microsoft), Sat Mandri (JNCTN) and John Evans (TSB), and the re-elected Luke McIntyre (Mattr). You can view the full Council here.

Looking ahead to 2021
A number of you have been participating in our workshop sessions on AML Reliance and Trust and Identity Research and Education. We will be continuing with this collaborative, initiative-based approach into the New Year, phasing out our old working group structure. 

We are very conscious that there is a big information gap between those on the ‘inside’ of all things digital identity and those at the other ends of the solutions. This includes  individual and community service users, as well as a raft of commercial and community businesses and organisations for whom information and identity management is critical. Closing the gap will be a major focus for us in 2021, and we will be asking you to join us in that endeavour.

Introducing the New Zealand Tech and Innovation Story
I’d also like to make a mention of an exciting new programme that NZTech is leading. The New Zealand Tech and Innovation Story is a marketing initiative that will be designed to promote and enhance our international reputation for delivering world-class solutions and present New Zealand as a compelling place for tech talent and investment. But to get started, we need your help!

If you could take 10 minutes to complete this survey it would be greatly appreciated (please feel free to share amongst your network also).

By completing the survey, you are playing a part in helping shape the narrative and the way we promote New Zealand’s tech and innovation capabilities internationally. The survey findings will be shared and will help form an integral part of developing the story we tell to the world.

A Christmas wrap
Finally, some Christmas good-giving inspiration for you from the Good Registry.Good Gift Cards are a wonderful way to unlock the joy of generous giving to Aotearoa charities, a beautiful gift of giving!

Ngā Mihi,

Andrew Weaver
Executive Director

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