Hirini Tane - Maorimaps, Te Potiki National Trust, University of Otago

Travel Grant Interviews

Hirini is one of our Travel Grant Receipients. We owe thanks to OSGeo for their financial support and advice which made the Travel Grant Program possible.

How did you first become involved in the geospatial community?

My work within the geospatial community is part of a growing interest by indigenous people worldwide to have more of a say in ways that their ancestral landscapes are mapped. It also stems from a tertiary education in archaeology where GIS is utilised heavily.

How would you describe the reputation of open source software in your area?
Burgeoning. But underdeveloped. From my limited experience, GIS software remains dominated by larger corporations.

What geospatial tools do you rely on?
Google API, Google Earth, government and NGO geo-spatial data sets.

What trends or future applications are you most excited by in the geospatial industry?
Indigenous, kin-community control of their own geospatial data.

What are the most important steps you believe the community can take to improve its diversity?
Collaboration with local communities, organisations and service providers.

If you had to eat one thing for the rest of the year, what would it be?
Smoked eel.

Is there anything else you’d like to share (thoughts, projects, software)?
I'm looking forward to learning more about alternatives to the large geospatial corporations that currently structure our not-for-profit service.