President’s report
By Deborah Shaw AE
Kia ora,
By the time you’re reading this, we will have had our annual branch meeting (ABM). I’ll include a more detailed report in November’s Gatherings, but for now I want to thank our EdANZ committee members – Joan Gladwyn, Juanita Nieuwoudt, Jane Matthews and Rina Wongpanich. You’re all wonderful to work with. Thank you for your dedication over the years; it’s much appreciated!
And a big thank you to Jane for being our newsletter coordinator for the last few years. She steps down this year. Jane has edited most of my updates for Gatherings and has done a wonderful job of fixing my mistakes and contributing ideas during our meetings. Thank you, Jane!
As part of the ABM, I also invited EdANZ members from other committees to report on their work. Andrea McKay AE is on the Standing Committee on Awards and Prizes (SCAP), Elizabeth Beattie AE is on the Accreditation Board, and Tanja Gardner is on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Working Party..
It’s fantastic to have such great representation across IPEd. If you’re able to dedicate some of your time to serve on a committee, please do. It’s rewarding and fun, and it’s great to connect with fellow editors.
Andrea and SCAP are currently looking for volunteers. What could be more uplifting than to help celebrate the skill of our profession through awards and prizes? In late September, the call also went out for people to join the new Conference and Events Standing Committee. Having EdANZ members on these committees will help shape the future of IPEd’s activities.
I’m so pleased to announce that Meredith Thatcher AE is our new director on the IPEd Board. Meredith has been an IPEd member for many years; she joined long before the EdANZ branch formed, so she’s well-versed in how IPEd works and what we are working towards. Welcome, Meredith!
The week of 15 September marked the 50th year of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. The Spinoff published an excellent 3-part series on the history and future of te reo in Aotearoa New Zealand. I learned a lot from these articles (much of it depressing, but a lot of positivity and hope, too).
Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori has many great resources and reports about te reo, and a register of translators and interpreters. Their partner site ReoMāori.co.nz is full of language learning resources, including a list of wānanga across the country that offer lessons in person and online.
Finally, the latest additions to the Oxford English Dictionary have been announced. Like with previous years, te reo Māori words have been added: hapū and mōrena.
Ngā mihi,
Deborah
Meredith Thatcher – EdANZ’s new director on the IPEd Board
Meredith is a new director on the IPEd Board, appointed by Editors ANZ for a 2-year term. Meredith sat the first accreditation exam while living in Canberra, when she worked for many years as publications manager in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University. She is also a published author.
Meredith currently works as a content consultant for Write Group, which offers a range of content, training and consulting services to clients in New Zealand and beyond. She is a project manager, researcher, technical writer, editor and proofreader. She also coaches clients on topics such as critical thinking. Her specialties are in defence and military, incident response, security, utilities, insurance and academia. Meredith spent her early career in non-legal roles at commercial law firms in New Zealand, such as Buddle Findlay and Russell McVeagh.