---
# System prepended metadata

title: Ahau Strategy Session 3

---

# Ahau Strategy Session 3

**Agenda:**

- Karakia
- Team check in
- Ways of working through our strategy:
    - [x] Our Purpose
    - [x] Our Values
- Lock in our next steps / session
- Closing Karakia

# Ahau Strategy Session 4

**Agenda:**

- Karakia
- Team check in
    - [ ] Our Roles
    - [ ] How we make decisions
- Lock in our next steps / session
- Closing Karakia


### Key links:
- [Preparation for Strategy Session 3](https://hackmd.io/DgWDDO6CR2SYFSleQnU2GQ) 
    - This prep doc has all the links to all the earlier session notes.

____________________________________________________________________

## Purpose

- Indigenous communities successfully navigate a path to a self-determined, resilient future, maintaining their unique cultural identities while effectively interoperating with global systems that the rest of humanity uses.


- Our purpose is to develop a nation-building stack of decentralised public-digital-infrastructure for indigenous people delivering capabilities to be more effective kaitiaki of the earth, environment and society we leave to all our future whanau.


- Our purpose is to help strengthen and grow Maori communities. We do this by offering value aligned tools (and training) to serve them on their journey.


 - Our Purpose is to empower our communities to take ownership of their data by building the tools to enable this

- Our purpose is to empower indigenous communities by co-creating tools/technology that enable tino rangatira / self determination.



Reflections:
- Ben: I was thinking about our "ultimate outcome" (copied Jo's framing of that)
- Jo
    - There's a difference in scope + scale
    - Mix went for "Maori" as a scope, others went wider - "Indigenous"
      - Mix:
          - Maori and Indigenous - what does this mean?
          - Open to scope being a range of things but how do we test for these things.
      - Ben: if you put the purpose in a point they are all in the same direction, but are all in different distances
      - Mix: I agree with that but it changes the focus/ tactics/ stretegy
      - Ben: and comms
      - Engie:
          - yeah and how does that effect our immediate decision making
          - we notice our tools are already in use/ of value
      
- Jo: I don't think there's any contention about focusing on Maori. But in this case we're talking about the purpose of an organisation we're forming.


- Mix: Working on commons.garden, work on different initiatives to explore or deliver a specific thing.
    - Can we have a really broad scope and our first initiative is whakapapa for Maori
    - Generalising that work into other spaces
        - How is this different to Earth Defenders Toolkit (EDT)?

- Ben: EDT - is a paid participant to EDT!!!
    - EDT scope is indigenous territory defense not indigenous community collaboration.
    - https://www.earthdefenderstoolkit.com/

- Jo: Abstracting "tribes" to next level...
    - eldest child is trans, is part of a LGBTQIA community in Tauranga, 16-28yos, part of a "tribe" with trusted relationships
    - there are a lot of applications of the whakapapa pieces, which have useful associated tools
    - we're building tools for our kids
    - these are "fundable" domains

- Cherese: Simpler, we are going indepth but all in the same direction

- Ben: Ahau was built with this intention and purpose
  - open source
  - crowdin.com - UI for adding translations (localisation)
  - communicating to other nations
  - Purpose: who is it for?  What is it for?
      - For some it comes as a goal post but not what I think of.
      

      - Mix: I'm fine with purpose to evolve. It's a point for communication + reflection
      - Mix:
          - who? funders, communities checking our vibe, us reflection
          - 
      - Engie: for me!
          - I want a way to say yes / no
          - and for our team to say yes / no
          
- Mix: I'm keen on the big org with targetted experiments
  - e.g. mastodon for northland
  
- Jo: we have an opportunity to deliver tools for communities
  - we have wider community: ssb, atala-prism/ cardano
  - purpose of the pupose: momentum for organisation, sustainability
    - look here's the manifestation of soverign infra!!!
  
  - Mix: is this internal or external facing purpose:
    - internal: for aligning ourselves
    - external: things which look fundable
    - Jo: they're connected, they are both needed
    - Ben: I think they're the same
    - Jo: I think EDT is part of this purpose / org

Options:
- Shonky version that we review in 6 months.

> Our purpose is to empower Maori and Indigenous communities by co-creating value-aligned tools and infrastructure. We aim to facilitate self-determination, resilience, and data ownership, while enabling communities to be effective stewards of the earth, environment, and society for future generations.

LOCK IN FOR 6 months (from 2023-09-14)


Questions to test purpose:
  - do people care about the story?
  - is it fundable?
  - can the people here deliver on that purpose?
      - e.g. we aren't First Nations (North America), we can't do that currently?

  - is this polished enough for us to be able to use?
  - is this polished enough for external comms?

____________________________________________________________________

## Our Values


- sovereignty
    - data
      - control over data
      - control of cryptographic signing keys
    - anything we build/ contribute can continue to run without us
    - accessibility of all tools (you don't have to be a programmer to access)
- for community
    - not "for profit"
    - our primary return on investment is stronger, more vibrant community
- by community
    - developed with community
        - must be a good reason why not if not
    - our work is only possible in symbiosis with real communities
- not for sale
    - this organisation and work is not designed to be sold
- sustainable
    - for communities using our tools
    - for us developing / maintaining tools
- cultural preservation
    - protecting and conserving cultural heritage values, traditions etc
- collaboration
    - open source
    - building with communities
    - working with others who with the same goals
- learning
    - we prioritize listening + adapting to needs of communities
    - we measure what we value, and adapt to what we find
    - we support people learning about the tools/infra they depend on
    - we support the learning of members of our org
- growth
    - growing as a team, as a company, similar to learning

- Kaitiakitanga (Guardianship)
    - We are the custodians of the tools/technology we build and develop
        - 'Protecting' the tools/technology and communities we serve
- Generous
    - manaakitanga
    - not FOR profit
- Generative
    - respectful
    - kaitiakitanga
    - whanau first
    - growing as a team
- Generational
    - sustainability
    - protecting the work
    - whanau first
- whanau first
    - our organisation values the wellbeing of our members (and their families) as well as those we serve
- transparency
    - how we work
    - what we're working on
    - our resourcing sources
    - our agreements that bind us to actions
    - what we do with profit (!!)
- openess
    - we are open to other contributors
    - we have a desire to grow our team

- manaakitanga (supportive, warmth and welcoming)
    - we work with love and respect and kindness and willingness to learn and teach

- Kotahitanga (together as one)
    - Actively working together using shared knowledge and expertise; Co-operating in partnership with a spirit of good faith, integrity, honesty, transparency, mana Māori me ōna tikanga and mana tangata tiriti hoki.


Questions:
1. Should these values be reflected in any partners we choose to work with?
2. Do we have any boundaries?
  - e.g. anti-fascist, queer friendly, ...
3. How do we check our partners have compatible value

Finished here 1pm, Thurs 14 Sept

____________________________________________________________________


Start here 11am, Thurs 21 Sept

## Our Roles

### Added from Pre Work Doc:
- ben@ahau.io - please add in any roles and or accountabilities you think important for us to consider for our strategy sessions.  

If we are just talking about the strategy work, and the goal is to design a new team strategy
**Accountabilities**
- meeting coordination
- notes taking
- someone who can summarise team inputs and keep us moving forward
- someone who reminds us of our why when we need it
- someone who can think outside of the box

Once we have a strategy in place and we know the direction we are heading in
**Accountabilities**
- fundraising
- community development
- business development
- product development

---

- jo@yojodesign.com -  please add in any roles and or accountabilities you think important for us to consider for our strategy sessions.  


- mix@protozoa.nz
  - yes to roles
    - AND I think roles should be like hats we pass around. important to share labour, learning, power.
  - I would split facilitator out into mini bits to make it lighter
    - note taker, summarizer
    - calender wrangler
    - meeting host (keeps us on time, helps us all participate/ be heard, helps us make course corrections to agenda as required)


- cherese - please add in any roles and or accountabilities you think important for us to consider for our strategy sessions.  

[Insert Section from Prep Work]




____________________________________________________________________


## How we make decisions

**Rules:**
- We don't put community information into AI
- 

**Ways of working / decision making**
- 


____________________________________________________________________


## Actions

Mix
  - Ask Luandro for an AI session



