Flaxroots Technology - Conference 2000 - Presenters List

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"Arā kē noa atu ngā painga ka puta." - "Making a world of difference."

Presenters

Included below is biographical information about presenters and workshop leaders.

Anne Elliot - is currently working as a Teaching Fellow in the School of Education at the University of Otago. For the last two years she has designed the websites through which the School's Internet-based papers are delivered, moderated online conferences, and used Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) to interact with students.

Previously a teacher, she is now also a Masters student in the School, where her professional interests are in the areas of Policy Studies, digital media design, equity issues, the legal and ethical use of the Internet in schools, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in schools. She has published on these issues in the journal, Computers in New Zealand Schools, and Net-Working: Teaching, Learning, & Professional Development with the Internet, edited by Dr Wing-Lai.

She is married to a Central Otago sheep farmer and in her spare time has put her local community on-line (http://www.middlemarch.co.nz/). She is the creator of and webmaster for Not Just Gumboots & Scones [http://www.notjust.org.nz/], a website for rural women. These involvements have lead to a current interest in equity issues in electronic access, using the Internet to build virtual communities and the potential for communities to promote themselves through the World Wide Web.

Claire Shearman - freelance researcher and consultant on local and global Information Society policies and issues. She has previously worked for the European Commission in Brussels (where she was co-author of the Green Paper 'Living and Working in the Information Society: People First') and as an academic in the fields of economic development, technology policy and politics.

Her work in the field of local ICT development over the past ten years includes local ICT policy development in Manchester, setting up a transnational community-based ICT training partnership and centre in the UK, the development of the European Telecities network and policy advice to the European Commission and UK national government on Information Society strategies and development.

As a consultant she has worked on a number of Information Society related topics including regional development in the South West of Ireland, evaluation of community ICT initiatives in the UK, Ireland, France and Germany, technology and gender issues, ways in which ICTs can support social inclusion and local economic development and the role of the Third Sector in employment creation in Europe. She is a founder member of the European Association of Community Networking and currently joint Chair of UK Communities Online. She is also the Coordinator for the Global 2000 community networking initiative. She can be contacted on: claire.shearman@mcrl.poptel.org.uk.

See: UK Communities Online: www.communities.org.uk/ and European Association of Community Networks: www.ac.upc.es/homes/artur/eacn.html.

Cora Baillie - is currently working as the Project Manager of Community Information Service, a partnership initiative of Lincoln University and Community Employment to assist rural economic development. For the previous 4 years, I managed a community group and was a member of CEIG, a network of managers of employment related community groups in Christchurch. Before that, I worked for 8 years, part-time, as a Project Officer in the old NZES, while also being a mum. I am currently a Trustee of Molten Media Trust, and am slowly knocking off papers towards the UNITEC Graduate Diploma in Not-for-Profit Management. Occasionally, I make silver jewellery.

Elizabeth Butterfield (Liz) has been the Co-ordinator of Auckland Rape Crisis for over 5 years. She initiated the Internet Safety Kit project and represented her agency on the Internet Safety Group. Elizabeth managed that project over the last 18 months. She has a background in community work in the United States before coming to New Zealand in 1994. She lives on Waiheke Island and has a 17 year-old daughter.

Gary Hardy - General Manager of VICNET: Victoria's Network. As a result of VICNET's efforts, there is at least one free public access internet terminal in each of 244 public library branches in Victoria, over 70,000 Victorians have received training in how to use the Internet, and almost 3,000 community groups are actively publishing and communicating online using the VICNET web site and services. Gary has been working with the project since its inception in 1994. He is also co-list owner for Preemie-L, an online parent support group for parents of premature babies which currently has a membership of over 600 world wide. He is a librarian by trade, and has been working to develop online resources and spread the good word since discovering the Internet while a lecturer at RMIT in 1989.

Gary believes that the capacity of the Internet as a communication and publishing tool has enormous power to transform, enrich and enable the lives of individuals and communities. Provision of access and skills is as critical in this century as public education in the last.

See: VICNET: http://www.vicnet.net.au/

Garry M Watson has extensive experience in Maori development and economic development, both in Aotearoa and overseas. Since 1985 Garry has been involved with Maori Access, Mana Enterprise and other programmes. He is currently Project Manager for the Ngai Tai Iwi Authority, based in Torere Opotiki, East Cape, and is contracted to the Minister of Maori Affairs as the Co-ordinator of the Iwi Housing Forum, which brings together five Iwi housing providers. As Managing Director of South Pacific Resource Management he provides advice on resource based economic development for indigenous organisations in the greater South Pacific and South American region.

Garry has also delivered training and employment programmes throughout the South Pacific region and has networks in Singapore, Japan, Tonga, Australia, NZ and Chile. A self-confessed workaholic and techno-buff, Garry is passionate about strategic planning, training and employment. When not working, Garry spends time with his family and admits to being a frustrated artist, utilising computer graphics to off set a lack of time available for artistic pursuits.

About 10 years ago Hazel Ashton began to add to her role as mother of 3 now teenage girls, those of a peace activist, St Albans Community Board representative, Community development worker and university student. Last year she graduated with a BA hons (1st class), majoring in sociology and political science. She is currently working towards a masters thesis. She is not very interested in computers as such, but is extremely interested in some of the things that can be done with them to enhance community life.

Jo Wooldridge is General Manager Buller of the Community Development Company (BCDC) based in Westport. BCDC is a Community owned Company involved in training, business development and social services throughout the West Coast. The Company operates two commercial enterprises, fertiliser and horticulture, as well as delivering government funded contracts.

Two of the projects Jo is currently working on are sustainable community development - working with a model to create holistic sustainability, and the development of a regional community website as both a promotional and networking medium.

Jonathan Mosen has been a user of standard computers with the aid of assistive technology since 1984. He became one of the first blind people in New Zealand to make regular use of the CompuServe Information Service, at that time the world's largest on-line consumer service.

Jonathan has established and operated many online services to provide advice and support to people with disabilities.

These have included:

OUT OF SIGHT BBS (1990): on-line bulletin board
"The Arena", a web site using 'RealAudio' that featured articles of interest and interviews with blind web surfers
PC-Audio e-mail list (August 1998): 350 contributors from around the globe provide assistance with people listening to and recording audio on the PC
HearToday.com [http://www.heartoday.com/] web site (July 1999): a "speech friendly" environment with information about audio on the PC, and easy access to players, encoders, recorders and digital extraction software.
MBS FM: ran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from May 1999
Blindtech, a general blindness technology discussion list where blind computer users can come for expert assistance and to share knowledge.

Jonathan acts as an Internet consultant to individuals and organisations around the world, offering services ranging from individual tutoring via the telephone to designing new Internet projects. He also tests pre-release versions of many popular access products on behalf of their developers. The American Council of the Blind recently hired Jonathan to run its new Internet radio station.

Judi Rendall manages the Tairawhiti REAP and has a background in teaching, community and economic development, policy and research.

Kiritapu Murray-Mikaere (Kaitahu, Mamoe me Rapuwai hoki) - Kiritapu has been involved in web design, database and IT Project Management with Ngai Tahu Development Corporation since 1998. Her passion is accessibility for whanau, whether via Iwi, urban or other means.

Larry Stillman - Diversity Officer, VICNET. Larry is responsible for outreach and development of accessible web sites and technology, as well as multilingual web development. He has worked in community development and information services for the past decade. In 1995 he first became aware of the power of the Internet for community and social development. Two major focuses of his work at the moment include the evaluation of adaptive technology for public libraries and the creation of a multilingual public information database. Larry has been involved with the organisation of Australian Community Networking Conferences since 1996.

Notwithstanding our excitement about the Internet, he is particularly concerned about the fetishisation of technology, including the Internet, as a surrogate for actual community and social change. Educated in Melbourne, he has also studied in the US and Jerusalem.

See: VICNET disability information: www.vicnet.net.au/disability/training/ and The Open Road: multilingual links project: http://www.openroad.vic.gov.au/

Malcolm Knowles is currently in his sixth year with Far North REAP (Rural Education Activities Programme) as ITC Support with REAP's Schools team. This involves working with students, teacher-aides, teachers, Board of Trustee members, interested parents in any possible way to help schools from North Hokianga to Cape Reinga get value for money from their investment in computers. Added to this is a brief to add an ITC component to Far North REAP's community education services, which is why he is here at 'Flaxroots Technology'.

Malcolm came to New Zealand in 1960 and until he 'retired' in 1992 enjoyed a career in teaching in rural schools in Northland and on the Coromandel Peninsula. His interest in computers started some 20 years ago with word processing and publishing and he now wonders whether he is perhaps developing a condition he may need treatment for. There are times when Anne, his wife, is convinced of it.

Marianne Doczi - currently works in the IT Policy Group of the Ministry of Economic Development, working on both social and economic issues in relation to the Internet. My interest in the way ICTs can be used to transform the way organisations, individuals, societies and economies work comes from my time in the New Zealand Employment Service where I saw how it could be used to help clients help themselves, and subsequent study. Recently I've been looking at why it's so important that as many people, communities and locations have good access to ICT: understand its relevance and importance, have the skills to use it to best effect, including creating content which is meaningful.

Mary-Ann Gaelic - recently Mary-Ann spent four years as a business facilitator and director of Enterprise Agencies in both Foxton and Cambridge. This work involved working with new businesses starting up and existing businesses, and various community development programmes such as Mainstreet and Bootstraps, as well as Tourism development groups.

Miraz Jordan runs her own business, First Bite of the Apple, offering excellent internet and computer training and support.

Miraz has been teaching and training people for over 25 years. As a teacher of German and English she took up computing in 1983 when she started writing programs for her school students to use as learning tools. In the early 90s Miraz worked for the National Resource Centre for Adult Education and Community Learning (NRC), where among other tasks she had the job of helping community groups connect up to and use the Internet. She created her first web page in 1993, when the web was still brand new.

Miraz is a compulsive learner and finds the Internet an enjoyable source of constant challenge and growth. Apart from computers and the Internet Miraz spends time watching or reading science fiction.

Mike Ennis - has been involved in the peace and environment movement in Wellington since the late 1970's. He was coordinator of the Greenpeace support group in Wellington and is a former chairperson of ECO. Besides working on the Sustainable Wellington Net he is secretary of Action for Environment and is on the executive of Friends of the Earth NZ.

Paul Hughes has 25 years involvement in community advocacy, particularly on nature conservation and Wellington Region issues. I followed the progress of the Coalition for Open Government from 1979 through to 1982 when the Official Information Act was passed. I have given a presentation for the NZ Planning Institute on Public Participation in the Resource Management Act, to new District/City/Regional Councillors. I attained a Diploma in Information Systems, focussing on the strategic use of information in government. During that study in 1996 I drew the topic "electronic democracy" and applied it to an Internet enabled New Zealand Society rather than a business corporate. Since then I have assisted Edemocracy New Zealand in the implementation of its website (www.naturespace.co.nz/ed/). I have also given a public lecture on NZ Edemocracy in conjunction with a visiting US exponent, and assisted in the creation of the Vote for EDemocracy Charter promoted by EDemocracy NZ.

Pauline Proud has experience in community work, management, health promotion and training. She has managed health promotion units, and developed and delivered training for community workers and health professionals. Working with the Public Health WWW Networking Project, she has coached over 1100 individuals, and provided advice on use of the Internet to over 200 groups and providers throughout the country.

Robyn Kamira (Te Rarawa, Te Aupouri) has a bachelor degree in computer science and Maori, a post graduate diploma in information technology, and is currently researching the impact of information technology on Iwi towards a PhD. Through her research, Robyn has investigated the cultural issues arising from the adoption of information technology, and has included projects such as kidZnet - an information solution for children's health, the Maori Land Court, Te Kohanga Reo National Trust, and both urban Maori and Iwi based organisations. Her practical experience spans 12 years and includes designing databases, Maori language computer programs, and websites. Robyn has assisted a number of Iwi organisations and others in areas including information systems, health, environment and education.

Roy James has been actively involved in both the community and computing fields for many years. Trained as an engineer, attending both Canterbury and Victoria Universities, he worked for many years in the manufacturing sector. Having established several partnerships which have designed and manufactured a range of electronic equipment Roy then moved into the computing field.

In 1994 Roy established a computer training centre and trained clients in the use of Microsoft 'Windows' based computer programmes. Along with a busy working life Roy has made a significant contribution to community services through the Upper Hutt Chamber of Commerce and Levin Probus Clubs. A key role has been as business mentor for the Upper Hutt Business Advisory Service, Wellington Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise Horowhenua. He is currently Technical Director (previously Course Director) and an executive member of Seniornet Horowhenua. In these roles he has been responsible for the installation and operation of the classroom equipment as well as the arrangement and monitoring of classes for the 10 months since Inauguration.

Suzi Gould works co-jointly with Waikato University School Support Services in Tairawhiti and the East Coast REAP. She has a teaching background and has travelled extensively teaching in other countries.

Te Taka Keegan - is of Waikato-Maniapoto and Ng?i Porou tribal descent. Born and raised in Taranaki, though has returned to Waikato. Received a Diploma in Computer Engineering from the Central Institute of Technology. Obtained a BA and an MA from the University of Waikato through the Te Tohu Paetahi stream. Lecturer with the Computer Science Department, University of Waikato. 8 years experience teaching computing through the medium of Maori language at tertiary level. Currently working on a doctorate titled "Maori language on the Internet". Professional Manager Maori for Te Kete Ipurangi, the Online Resource Centre web site commissioned by the Ministry of Education for all schools of New Zealand.

Tom Robinson - is an active member of a number of Wellington environmental groups including the Forest and Bird Protection Society and the Karori Sanctuary Trust. He has an interest in the possibilities of using the Internet to further the aims of environmental groups. He is a self employed computer programmer, and is responsible for the technical development of the Sustainable Wellington Net.