Deconstructing the colonial hold on our data and reimagining our future with technology

Following the debut of this workshop at the Dismantling the Doctrine 2026 International Summit, Amber is bringing her workshop home to Wairarapa. Come together at Papawai for a weekend workshop on reclaiming our stories, our data and our mātauranga. From the 1850s census of our tīpuna to today's algorithms, others have collected, categorised, and held our knowledge. 

This workshop turns that around into Mana mātauranga ā-hapū, a Māori data sovereignty strategy grounded in tikanga, and practical steps whānau can take to govern, protect, and tell their own stories. 

We also help guide you through what future technology is here or coming so that you can feel prepared, looking at it through a te ao Māori lens. 

Grounded in the strategies of Wairarapa, with real examples of repatriating our data and upskilling our whānau. 

Expect kōrero, wānanga, and nourishing kai.

This event is a 3-day workshop. The pōwhiri will be held at 5.30 pm on Friday, and we will aim to finish at midday on Sunday.

Further details will follow for registered attendees.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this wānanga, participants will be able to:

1. Trace the history of data extraction: Understand how our tīpuna were counted, categorised and studied, with examples from 1800 census' through to today's algorithms, and why that context matters for how we hold our mātauranga now.
2. Understand Mana mātauranga ā-hapū: Grasp what a Māori data sovereignty strategy grounded in tikanga looks like in practice, and how it shifts power over knowledge back to whānau, hapū and hapū.
3. Examples of how tikanga can be applied to data decisions: Showing examples of how pūrākau and tikanga can shape frameworks that decide who can collect, store, share and tell our stories, rather than defaulting to external systems and policies.
4. Take practical steps at whānau level: Leave with concrete, doable actions to govern and protect their own data and stories (not just theory).
5. Repatriate and reclaim: Hear real examples of data and knowledge being returned to communities, and where to start with your own.
6. Read emerging technology through a te ao Māori lens: Feel prepared, not threatened, by what's here and coming (AI and beyond), using example frameworks from te ao Māori to evaluate new tools against our values.
7. Connect to the Wairarapa strategy: Utilising Wairarapa as a stronghold of kotahitanga, sharing stories and lived experiences of our people to ensure we prepare collectively.