Charities and NFPS Gathered in Christchurch Last Night to Explore How to Harness AI Safely and Responsibly to Amplify Their Missions
CHRISTCHURCH, August 15, 2025 — More than 50 representatives from charities and not-for-profits gathered last night at Tūranga, Christchurch’s central library, for a sold-out event hosted by Inde, in partnership with Volunteering Canterbury and Christchurch Community House. The event focused on how purpose-driven organisations can harness artificial intelligence (AI) safely, ethically, and effectively to amplify their missions.
“We’re proud to support the community sector in navigating the opportunities and risks of AI. These organisations are doing vital work, and they deserve access to the same tools and knowledge as the private sector.”
- Jo Murphy, Cloud Specialist & Community Events Lead, Inde
The evening opened with thought-provoking presentations by Berys Amor (CIO, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu), Stella Ward (Global Ambassador, Streamliners), and Rik Roberts (CTO, Inde). The speakers shared practical insights on how AI can be adopted responsibly, with a strong emphasis on data governance and strategy, equity, and community impact.
The event then proceeded with a lively Q&A session, moderated using the Slido application to ensure the most relevant questions were addressed. These included: Are there any free AI tools that ensure security and respect data privacy? What’s a good first step for organisations that want to explore AI but aren’t sure where to begin? What is the opportunity for human-centred organisations with AI outside of gaining more time?
The feedback from attendees was nothing short of positive, with many commending the speakers and the content shared; The general sentiment being that the speakers did an excellent job at making technical content digestible with tangible use cases attendees could take away and implement into their own organisations.
"AI offers a lot of opportunity for charities, and they should be able to access and utilise it as easily as any other organisation. The speakers this evening shared practical insights on how attendees can do just that, and add a valuable resource to their toolboxes which will support the mahi they do on a day to day basis across our communities."
- Glenda Martin, General Manager, Volunteering Canterbury
The event underscored the need for accessible education and support for organisations that may not have the resources to invest in AI research or infrastructure. Inde is dedicated through its publicised Inde commitment, to ensuring events like this continue to happen and foster knowledge sharing where it is needed most.
“Our purpose has always been empowered by shared knowledge and learning, and events like this allow us to do that and meet our broader Inde commitment to give back. I enjoyed the event last night and was pleased to hear the positive feedback from the crowd.”
- Dave Veronese, CEO, Inde
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