A huge mihi to our featured member – Madeleine Bell for sharing her journey in Te Ao Matihiko Scroll down below whanau to read more about her journey.
Patai 1 – Where are you from & what do you do?
Ko Whanganui te awa,
Ko Ruapehu te maunga,
Ko Ngāti Rangi raua ko Te Ātihaunui-a-Papārangi ngā iwi,
Ko Ngāti Rangituhia raua ko Ngāti Ruaka ngā hapu,
Ko Raketepauma raua ko Rānana ngā mārae,
Ko Maddie Bell ahau
I am a UX/service designer from Te Whāngangui-a-Tara, currently working in the Human-Centered Design team at PwC
Patai 2 – How did you get into your mahi?
When studying UX design, I was lucky to intern during my last semester with an awesome group of Māori designers at IDIA – Indigenous Design and Innovation Aotearoa. Miriame, Johnson and John created a working environment where I could be fully myself, whilst learning from them about what being a designer means. At IDIA, I grew my practice as we worked towards meaningful kaupapa for Māori audiences, which was a great entry point into this industry.
Patai 3 – What advice would you give to other Māori looking for a career in digital & tech?
Some advice I would give to other Māori looking for a career in digital & tech is to connect to your community and find people who are working towards similar goals as you. I’ve found the people I’ve met in this space, many who have mentored and supported me to grow, give me strength and skills to develop and grow authentically. They push me to strive towards excellence and they encourage me to bring my whole self to the work that I do.
Patai 4 – What’s the coolest project you’ve worked on or, what piece of mahi are you most proud of?
The coolest project I’ve worked on was a project with Local Contexts. They are a global initiative that supports indigenous communities reassert cultural authority in the heritage and data space. Local Context’s labels are a mechanism that indigenous communities can use to repatriate knowledge and gain control over how data is collected, managed, displayed, accessed, and used. On this project, it was great to be working with indigenous people and cultural institutions across the globe to change the data and heritage space, and this experience really shaped how I approach any new projects I become involved in.
