Q list with Sidney Wong

A conversation with Sidney

Sidney Gig-Jan Wong 黃吉贊 (he/any) was born in Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai. His ancestral villages are in Szeyap, Dunggun, and Fatsaan. Sidney has familial links to Hong Kong and Macau. He now lives in Ōtautahi with his partner. In the community, Sidney advocates for and supports LGBTQIA+ communities across Aotearoa through his role as chair of the Ethnic Rainbow Alliance and Qtopia. He is also part of the governance boards for the Christchurch Heroes, Bad Apple Gay, and the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Health Advisory Group (CHAG) at Pegasus Health.  Sidney has a broad range of professional interests with an academic background in linguistics and data science. He is a community advocate and researcher. Sidney is currently working towards a PhD in Linguistics with funding from the Geospatial Research Institute at the University of Canterbury. He previously worked at Stats NZ as a Senior Design Analyst – Te Ara Takatū working alongside hapū, iwi, and Māori across Aotearoa to support their data needs and aspirations