Our Vision: He ATA Rangaranga Hou — Redefining Connection
- Sonny Ngatai
- Oct 6
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 7
In our last blog, Kiriana shared the story of how ATA came to be. How we brought together a team of Māori creatives with a shared vision and a few superpowers: manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, Māuitanga. That foundation has carried us a long way.
This time, I want to talk about where we’re heading. About the light on the horizon. About what calls us forward.
Every good team needs a great rallying cry, and we’ve got ours: ATA ki tua — ATA to infinity! It’s our way of keeping our eyes on the future, focused on building a better future for our mokopuna.
A vision takes shape
As ATA has grown, so has our vision. Not just for our mahi, but for the impact we can make as a collective. We don’t just want to make content. We want to create spaces where connection is felt, and where people can flourish.
To help shape that vision, we worked with our hoa and mātanga reo, Dr Hona Black, to find the right rerenga or ATA-tauākī. With his support, we landed on a phrase that holds the mauri of our intention:
He ATA Rangaranga Hou
Ata is another word for morning light, we use it to represent a new dawn.
Rangaranga is the act of weaving and connecting people.
Hou is something fresh, new, future-facing.
Together, these kupu give shape to a vision that is deeply relational. It’s about redefining what connection means in digital spaces. We do this through Māori-led creativity, innovation and care. It's not just about redefining connection, it's about returning to what connection should feel like.
What this looks like in practice
1. Role modelling the good
Every comment we post, every video we create, every hui we show up to, it’s all part of a bigger practice. We want to show what it looks like to bring integrity, warmth and generosity into social spaces.
We’ve seen what happens when online spaces are driven by ego or outrage. We want to be part of a different story. One where people feel safe to show up as their full selves.
2. Relationships with depth
Social media can be surface-level. But it doesn’t have to be.
We believe in two-way connection. Not just pushing out content, but building real relationships. Where listening matters just as much as posting.
When brands engage with people in a way that honours their time and stories, they build something more durable than a campaign. They grow trust. They grow alongside their communities.
3. Rethinking value
How do you measure a good relationship?
Not just by how often someone comments or shares your post. But by how they feel. What they take away. Whether they come back.
We challenge ourselves and the people we work with to look beyond the metrics. Because the real value lies in the quality of connection, not the quantity of clicks.
4. Innovation, grounded in kaupapa
The digital world moves fast. We love that. It keeps us curious.
But our innovation isn’t for novelty’s sake, it’s about finding new ways to amplify the voices and stories that matter.
Whether it’s building platforms like Gen Reo or This is Aotearoa, launching Hue Bottle (a kaupapa Māori drink bottle), or producing a doco series — we move with purpose. Always with the future in mind.
5. Turning to the light
Let’s be honest, sometimes social media can feel heavy. Polarising. Like a digital Hunger Games.
ATA is about turning to the light and reigniting the spark of potential in digital connection. We want to create spaces that uplift and use these platforms to manaaki, not just market.
Projects like This is Aotearoa have shown us that social media can be a place of real healing. When people feel safe, resourced, and trusted, they show up in ways that matter.
To infinity and beyond!
This is the wero we’re laying down. Not just for ourselves, but for others who feel called to this kaupapa too.
We’re not here to just complain about the state of the internet. We’re here to show what’s possible, to model another way, one led by values, not clicks.
He ATA Rangaranga Hou is not just a plan, it’s a pathway to the kind of future we want to live in, and leave behind.
ATA ki tua!
Ā mātou mihi nui ki a:
Dr Hona Black for always guiding our reo Māori
Kylie Reiri for encouraging us to flesh out our vision and our why
Elena Higgison (Tīramaroa) for facilitating us through the vision reveal