From the president
Kia ora to you all.
It looks like a quiet start to the year from the outside, but from the inside things have been ticking over for the branch, and in some cases revving up.
The conference committee has met a couple of times already to discuss the format of the conference in 2023. You can expect to receive a survey later this year, and the answers will help us to ensure we are on track to give our members the conference they want. We’ll also be calling for papers in preparation for deciding on speakers for the event. You might be interested in doing a presentation yourself (or with a colleague) or you might know of someone you could recommend. Keep our eyes and ears open and for the call for papers later this year.
The review of the IPEd standards for editing practice is also chugging along behind the scenes. The small Aotearoa New Zealand contingent contributing to this review are hard working and doing an outstanding job for Kiwi editors. They have had a heavy workload over this hot summer with regular meetings and extra work in between times. We all owe them a debt of thanks as they do their best to ensure the Standards reflect our varied roles as editors in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. For those of you who are not familiar with the Standards, it is a resource for you and your clients/employers that lists the skills and knowledge a competent editor should display. The accreditation examination is based on the Standards.
The events team has been finalising details for this year’s events and PD. You will already have received an email with a calendar of PD and events lined up for the year so far. Our branch has worked with others to provide this overview for you so you can plan ahead for your time and your PD budget so as not to miss out. This calendar of events was one of our short-term goals within our strategic planning for professional development.
It is a tough month or so ahead of us, so I wish you all good health. Kia kaha.
Noho ora mai
Caroline Simpson, EdANZ Branch President
New member
We welcome new associate member Jane Matthews.
New newsletter coordinator
A huge thank you to our new member Jane Matthews who has volunteered to take over the role of newsletter coordinator. For those of you who are on the list for writing articles or proofreading, Jane will be your point of contact. If you are not on those lists, but you feel you would like to be added, then drop Jane an email on edanz.newlsetter@iped-editors.org. You would be asked to contribute once a year (that’s not too terrible, is it?) and I know Jane would welcome your input.
Report on past events
EdANZ and the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs co-host an event on the New Zealand Government’s guidance on content design
On 26 November, 15 editors from Wellington and the Kapiti Coast attended an event co-hosted by EdANZ and the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).
DIA is responsible for digital.govt.nz, which includes guidance on content design. Our three presenters from DIA – Cat, Hannah and Rebecca – explained the origins and intentions of the guidance, how the guidance is developed and updated, and the team’s priorities for new guidance in the future. As word nerds ourselves, it was heartening to hear that the team have regular “nerdathons” to brainstorm new style guidance.
We discussed a wide range of broad and narrow topics, touching on the use of te reo Māori in government publications, the inaccessibility issues with PDFs and the recent release of style guidance on spaced em dashes.
If you would like to receive updates from DIA about new or revised style guidance, the team invites you to email them at info@digital.govt.nz to be added to its mailing list. DIA is also looking for more volunteer user testers, so get in touch if you’re interested in helping out that way.
Events
Watch your inbox for updates on coming events.
In view of the rising cases at the moment, we have made the decision to cancel the March Auckland editors catch-up. The next one is on the second Saturday of June, followed by the second Friday of September. Fingers crossed we can all meet in person then.