Home » News » Australia’s First Indigenous Innovation Hub Opens in Cairns

Australia’s First Indigenous Innovation Hub Opens in Cairns

May 9th, 2017

Founded by Indigenous entrepreneurs Leigh Harris and Julie-Ann Lambourne, Digital Hive (DHIVE) aims to achieve social equality in the digital age. The innovation hub opened on May 3 and will enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, refugees, recent migrants, people with disabilities or anyone with a social and digital disadvantage to participate in and contribute to the growth of the digital economy.internet cable

“We must be more innovative in the way we ensure that the benefits of the new digital economy don’t pass by those who are already missing out,” said Harris, who also developed Australia’s first Indigenous mobile app in 2006. The hub will provide connectivity to those who may not have Internet access at home, opening new doors by teaching digital literacy and supporting founders and innovators from diverse backgrounds.

Once digital literacy skills have been acquired, participants can then use their new skills to develop their own business opportunities as individuals or as part of a group. Initial ideas include augmented audio for the visually impaired and a platform to preserve Indigenous languages.

The idea for DHIVE came about six years ago when Harris was working throughout remote communities in the Torres Strait. Harris found that the issue was not just affordability but also the simplicity of having a connection. He decided to partner with Lambourne from the non-profit training agency enVizion, who already had clients and resources that were ideal for the project. The new digital hub is located in enVizion’s offices and will assist up to 50 people at a time.

DHIVE will collaborate with other organisations to run start-up and mentoring programs for students and entrepreneurs in far North Queensland. They have already announced several projects such as the Tinkering Tiddas workshop, which aims to engage Indigenous women in tech.

Harris hopes that the federal government will get involved with the project as well as corporate organisations, and they have already had expressions of interest from around the world, including companies from Silicon Valley. If DHIVE develops well, Harris and Lambourne will push for more indigenous-led digital hubs to be established in regional Australia.

Are You Eligible?


Click here for the R&D Eligibility Wizard

R&D Audit Checklist


Click here for the R&D Eligibility Wizard

Categories

Archives

 
  
 Swanson Reed - Specialist R&D Tax Advisors 
 
 
 Swanson Reed - Specialist R&D Tax Advisors
  
 39 Google reviews 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 Swanson Reed - Specialist R&D Tax Advisors 
 
 
 Swanson Reed - Specialist R&D Tax Advisors
  
 39 Google reviews 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Daniel McGregor 
 
 
 Daniel McGregor 
 
2022-08-11
 
 
  
 
I have been using Swanson Reed for my clients for more than a decade.  Having a specialist firm that can provide practical and commercial advice that produces real outcomes is very important and we have received great feedback from our clients.
Highly recommended.
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 John 
 
 
 John 
 
2022-06-15
 
 
  
 
Damian and the rest of the team at Swanson Reed have been supporting us for several years.  We always appreciate their insights, expertise, and efforts.
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Rueben Rajasingam 
 
 
 Rueben Rajasingam 
 
2022-06-06
 
 
  
 
Experienced responsive Team. They have been a great help to me and my company navigate the R&D tax claim process and have provided invaluable advice.
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Enrique Esquivel 
 
 
 Enrique Esquivel 
 
2022-06-06
 
 
  
 
Damian and the team at Swanson Reed have been extremely helpfully and professional during all of our consultations. Highly recommended.
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Jess at Y&C 
 
 
 Jess at Y&C 
 
2022-06-03
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Anatole Kononewsky 
 
 
 Anatole Kononewsky 
 
2022-06-02
 
 
  
 
The Swanson Reed team have provided our company with exceptional professional advice and assistance for all of our R&D claims for many years - have always achieved great results with excellent value for their services.
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Payam Toloo 
 
 
 Payam Toloo 
 
2022-06-02
 
 
  
 
Damian Smyth and his team are very helpful, supportive and experts in their field of R&D Tax claims. I'm always happy with the work they do and been a customer of their for over 5 years.
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Melissa Doddy 
 
 
 Melissa Doddy 
 
2022-05-31
 
 
  
 
The Team at Swanson Reed are very experienced R&D Tax Advisors and gave us ongoing support with all of our R&D Claims, the consultants ensured we were always working with current legislative guidelines, gave us assistance with compiling technical and government documentation and went out their way to ensure they were with us for the entire process from beginning to end.  Highly recommended to anyone who needs assistance with working through what can at times be a daunting process.
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Gary Watson 
 
 
 Gary Watson 
 
2022-05-31
 
 
  
 
We can highly recommend Swanson and Reed as an R & D accountant. We have worked with them for several years now as they make our R & D claim so easy and communicate quickly with both us and our accountant.
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Rob van den Bergh 
 
 
 Rob van den Bergh 
 
2022-05-31
 
 
  
 
Always professional.