President’s report
By Deborah Shaw AE
Kia ora,
This is a month of thank yous, but first, I’m pleased to welcome Juanita Nieuwoudt to the committee as our new secretary. Welcome, Juanita!
From Juanita: “I’m a copyeditor and proofreader based in Whanganui. Originally trained as a lawyer in South Africa, I made a career pivot upon moving to New Zealand, embracing the world of librarianship. Last year, fueled by my passion for reading and knack for working with words, I embarked on a new journey, launching Elysium Editing. I specialise in non-fiction, academic and corporate texts, as well as web content. Feel free to reach out – I’d genuinely appreciate it! I’m relatively new to editing, so connecting with others in the field would be wonderful.”
Juanita takes over from Beverly Clunies-Ross, who stepped down in January. Thank you, Beverly, for all your work wrangling our committee minutes!
I also want to extend a huge congratulations to Marja Stack AE for all her work on the IPEd Standards Working Party (ISWP). In March, the ISWP released the third edition of the Standards. I’ve listened to Marja’s updates at our committee meetings over the last few years and am so pleased to see the final result. She has worked hard to make sure that the Standards reflects the changing profession and that it acknowledges Aotearoa, te reo Māori and the Treaty, and their place within our editing profession. The result is a set of standards that I’m proud to uphold.
Big thanks also to Paula Wagemaker for her involvement in the update. Her expertise and commitment is much appreciated! And thanks to Susi Bailey for her work on the initial EdANZ submission for the update. Thank you also to Pania Tahau-Hodges of Huia Publishing for her valuable contributions and te reo Māori expertise. And thank you to Anton Park for writing the Treaty statement.
My final thank you for this month goes to Andrea McKay for her involvement with the Standing Committee for Awards and Prizes (SCAP). Andrea joined SCAP following an invitation for new members, and she was immediately tasked with coordinating the Student Prize. No easy feat! Thank you, Andrea.
Having EdANZ representation on working parties and standing committees goes a long way towards representing our branch’s interests and you, our members. If you see an expression of interest for a standing committee or working party that grabs you, do apply. You’ll be making a valuable contribution to both EdANZ and IPEd.