Winston Churchill Fellows honoured

  • Jo Goodhew
Community and Voluntary Sector

Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Jo Goodhew is congratulating the fifteen New Zealanders who were honoured today at an awards ceremony for Fellows of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.

"Since 1965 over 840 New Zealanders have taken up this unique opportunity to travel abroad to carry out research that will be beneficial to their profession,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“These Fellows return with fresh perspectives and new ideas which they are able to apply in New Zealand and which benefit our communities greatly.

“The Fellows we are celebrating today have researched topical issues for New Zealand such as social enterprise and social housing, workplace resilience after a natural disaster, and sustainable management of freshwater.

“This year the Trust will have been supporting New Zealanders to study inspiring topics for fifty years, giving them an opportunity to become leaders in their chosen fields of study.”

Today’s awards were hosted at Government House by Official Secretary Mr Greg Baughen on behalf of trust patron, His Excellency, Lt Gen The Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae, Governor-General of New Zealand.

More information is available at www.communitymatters.govt.nz.

Notes:

Please find further details on some of the Fellows and their research below:

  • Alison Cadman, from Wellington, who researched social housing in Australia and the United Kingdom, and explored models for provision and funding of social housing through social enterprise.
  • Cathy Tracey, from Otaki, who travelled to the United Kingdom and Denmark to talk with women and groups who support tradeswomen in the construction industry.
  • Michael Noonan, from the Coromandel, who travelled from the Coromandel to the USA to learn how the state of Washington has increased the number of people with a disability participating in the workforce.
  • Johnny Blades, from Wellington, the first recipient of the Winston Churchill McNeish Writer’s Fellowship. Mr Blades travelled to Papua New Guinea to research indigenous societies. He is weaving his findings into a book tracing political, social and commercial upheavals in Melanesia since 1900.
  • Elizabeth Soal, from Oamaru, who investigated sustainable use and management of fresh water in Canada. She also explored catchment management strategies and farm management practices.   
  • Jolie Wills, from Christchurch, who travelled to Australia, Denmark, England, Japan, the Netherlands and the USA to explore strategies for workforce resilience after a natural disaster, to determine how organisations can support workers, community leaders and volunteers who are living and working in recovery.

Examples of the work of other Fellows can be supplied upon request.