Congratulations to Te Paea Paringatai, who has been awarded a Te Rōpū Whakahau Honorary Membership for her outstanding contribution to the library and information profession in Aotearoa New Zealand.
He tau rongonui te tau
He tau urutā te tau
He tau manako te tau
He tau hirahira te tau
He tau, ka tau te tau
An Honorary Membership by Te Rōpū Whakahau (National Association for Māori engaged in Libraries, Culture, Knowledge, Information, Communication and Systems Technology in Aotearoa New Zealand) awards the highest level of professional attainment to those making a significant contribution to the advancement of librarianship and/or information management through outstanding leadership, manaakitanga, teaching or research.
Te Paea Paringatai has been cited for her “outstanding contribution to the library and information profession in Aotearoa New Zealand”, and her “international influence and impact”.
This award highlights her contribution to influencing and leading innovative change in both Aotearoa and around the world, particularly focused on topics of collective leadership, coaching and mentoring, partnering through an indigenous lens, collection management, education, documentary heritage, Tiriti o Waitangi, mātauranga Māori and global indigenous matters.
The citation also commended her work for being practical, brave and insightful for information practitioners as well as making a contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the library and information studies discipline.
Commitment to leadership development in the sector was also recognised in the citation, noting that Te Paea has been active within the GLAM sector for over 25 years, with a range of leadership roles from being Tumuaki of Te Rōpū Whakahau, President of LIANZA, Chair of the IFLA Indigenous Matters, Professional Division Committee Chair and member of the IFLA Professional Council to name a few.
The award of a Te Rōpū Whakahau Honorary Member is deserved recognition of a long-standing commitment to sharing her expertise and knowledge, advancing ngā taonga i tuku iho, and to manaaki others to succeed as kaitiaki.
