Girls in Games: Keynote Speaker - Amber Taylor
This year, we are grateful and excited to have Amber Taylor, Co-Founder and CEO of ARA Journeys, to share her journey and to demystify the industry at our annual Girls in Games workshop. Girls in Games is an initiative that Media Design School has grown since its conception in 2013. The initiative aims to clear the path for women to engage with game development as a career, and shows the viable opportunities that exist in the gaming industry.
Amber Taylor is Co-Founder and CEO of ARA Journeys, a mobile gaming company that blends the digital world with Te Taiao and Te Ao (worldview) Māori. ARA’s award-winning games use immersive technologies (AR, MR, XR) and artificial intelligence (AI) to promote connection, education, and exploration, inspired by and drawing on mātauranga Māori.
ARA journeys was co-founded in 2018. Inspired by and drawing on indigenous knowledge, ARA's digital platforms utilise AR, MR, XR and AI to achieve the key objectives of connection, education, and exploration. Their work spans five key sectors:
- Environment
- Health (physical & mental)
- Education
- Tourism
- Information Technology
ARA was a finalist in the 2019 NZ Hi-Tech Awards and Highly Commended finalist of the Callaghan Prize Challenge. In 2021, ARA Journeys became the first NZ company to be awarded the Unity for Humanity Award by Unity, the world’s leading platform for creating and operating real-time 3D content.
Amber has been working in the tertiary sector for 18 years, with 12 of those years being across research and innovation of emerging technologies. She is an advocate for growing Māori and Pasifika talent and diversity in the tech sector, with extra backing with recent appointments as:
- Business mentor with NZ Business Mentor Association
- Auckland Regional Ambassador for National Digital Forum (Ministry for Culture & Heritage)
- Member of the Young Business Leaders Initiative with Ministry for Foreign Affairs & Trade
- NZ scout for USA Female Founded Club.
We look forward to hearing Amber's korero, and insights into how we can all inspire more wāhine to choose gaming as a career path.
