Ara Journeys co-founder to discuss Māori digital storytelling at BA5 event in Foxton

Ara Journeys co-founder and chief executive Amber Taylor is the guest speaker at the Electra BA5.

The co-founder of a Māori-owned mobile game company is coming to Foxton to talk about her work.

Ara Journeys co-founder and chief executive Amber Taylor (Ngāti Mutunga, Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Whātua, Ngā Puhi, Te Rarawa) will be at the Electra Business After Five (BA5) event this month to talk about the digital technologies studio she co-founded.

The award-winning business, started in 2018, uses artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality to bring indigenous stories to life.

It was the first to create a bilingual Māori augmented reality game, The Journeys of Manu. Using GPS, players join Manu on his quest to learn about the Maramataka (Māori lunar calendar) and the history of Aotearoa.

Taylor, from South Auckland, said preserving Māori history is at the core of the business.

“Ara Journeys started with a conversation about the history of places with a friend, now business partner. This discussion led to a kōrero about cultural identity and the impacts on urban Māori and cultural reconnection via the environment and stories.”

Taylor said she has always been interested in technology, starting when she received her first computer on her eighth birthday.

“I used it to create my first game, a racing car game. However, my first love is robots. I remember designing one for a school homework project. It was a cleaning robot that could do all my chores.”

It was during her time working in the tertiary sector that her interest grew, she said.

“I met and worked with some of the country’s leading technology professors and learnt a lot about technology - robotics, immersive tech, blockchain, big data, machine learning, sensor networks, space, health tech, med tech, food science, geo-spatial mapping and linguistics. I was fascinated by it all.”

She said she looks forward to discussing more of her business at the BA5 event.

“My talk will be about taking a grassroots company global. Ara Journeys is still 100 per cent Māori-owned. We haven’t raised capital or taken on investment. I’ll share some of the insights and lessons I’ve learnt along the way from past, present and future plans. I’ll also share the networks and resources I accessed to help us on our journey.”

The Details:

What: Electra BA5 - speaker Amber Taylor

When: Thursday, October 17, 5.30pm-7pm

Where: 92 Main St, Foxton