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We’re starting off with a jam-packed update on the SLANZA Regional Hui to be held in Levin. Plans are well underway to celebrate 25 years of our SLANZA community with the aim to share, support and learn with your fellow librarians and lovers of school libraries. So much goodness is summarised below:
If you want to hear a little more about the driving ideas around organising the Stronger Together Hui, listen to the SLANZA Podcast - Hui in the House! Announcing our Guiding Voice speakers At the hui, we are privileged to be joined by the current Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador Kate De Goldi, Samoan author and publishing powerhouse Dahlia Malaeulu and NZCYA 2024 Non-Fiction winner, author and illustrator, Steve Mushin. Be prepared to be inspired and challenged. Stronger Together Hui Programme released The draft programme is online now! Our focus is on providing practical and relevant content that helps build us into more effective school librarians. There’s an opportunity for you to gather a range of ideas for all attendees on specific topics, hear from individuals, share your win this year as a lightning exchange and find connections with others in similar schools or situations to you. Have you considered submitting a hui workshop outline? The SLANZA 2025 call for Workshop Outlines form is now open and will close at Midday on Friday 1 August 2025. This is your opportunity to share ideas, knowledge, stories of successes (and failures) and much more to an audience of hui attendees. Go on . . . give it a go! Librarians are such good sharers. Registrations are now open….and we’ve saved the best news for last. Early bird SLANZA member registration rates are only $120! For both days! So start filling out your PD application form. There’s even a template letter on the hui website to help you approach your Principal. Register your attendance for the SLANZA Stronger Together Hui here Once you've registered there is also a form to fill out to connect with others for transport. An opportunity to select specific workshops will be sent out at a later date. The SLANZA Horowhenua Hui committee
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The SLANZA 2025 Regional Hui is being held in Levin on the 20th-21st September. With SLANZA celebrating 25 years as an organisation the hui theme is Stronger Together: Sharing, Supporting, Succeeding! Here’s your chance to contribute by presenting or running a workshop. Please consider sharing your practical experience, strengths and advice with others. We have perfect introductory 30 minute session slots available. If you need more courage, shoulder tap a friend and do one together. It could also be a great way to encourage your school to pay for your Hui PD by also presenting on something your school library is doing effectively. Below are some ideas that attendees are interested in focusing on. If there is an area that you could help build capability and knowledge in, then please apply.
Submissions for workshop outline close Friday 1st August 2025. Presenters will be notified by Thursday 21st August. Please note we have limited space in the programme so not all outlines will necessarily be accepted. Any questions please contact Hui Convenor Kristy Wilson at [email protected]   We are delighted to welcome the award-winning author, publisher, and educator Dahlia Malaeulu as one of our guiding voices for the SLANZA Horowhenua Hui: Stronger Together! A proud Samoan New Zealander from Wellington, Dahlia’s work is deeply rooted in her heritage and a passion for empowering the next generation of Pasifika readers, aligning perfectly with our hui's focus on supporting and strengthening our communities.
Dahlia's journey into writing was inspired by her own children, leading her to create Mila’s Books. As the first all-Pasifika publishing team to win this honor, Mila’s Books was named Emerging NZ Publisher of the Year at the 2023 Aotearoa Book Trade Industry Awards. These Pasifika children’s books are designed to help young Pasifika feel seen, heard, and valued. The judges praised Mila's Books for advancing Pasifika storytelling by sharing the stories of over 90 first-time Pasifika authors, including children, students, educators, and parents. Adding to her list of accolades, Dahlia's book Mataali'i, illustrated by Darcy Solia and published by Mila's Books, is a finalist for the Picture Book Award in the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults (NZCYA). Her groundbreaking Mila’s My Gagana Series provides early language readers to support the development of basic Samoan language in homes and schools. She also authored the board book Going to Te Papa | Asiasiga ‘i le Falemata‘aga i Te Papa and created the Mila's My Aganu'u series. We are honoured to have Dahlia share her insights and inspire us all with her dedication to culture and community at our hui in Levin.  We are thrilled to announce that the remarkable industrial designer, visual artist, and author Steve Mushin will be joining us as a presenter at the SLANZA Horowhenua Hui: Stronger Together! As a part of our exciting lineup, Steve will bring a unique perspective shaped by over two decades of experience working at the intersection of human innovation and natural ecosystems.
Steve's career has been dedicated to reimagining our world through sustainable design. His work, which spans illustrations, design projects, and exhibitions, often involves collaborative efforts with a diverse range of experts, from scientists to farmers, on pioneering projects in urban agriculture and renewable technologies. His open-source aquaponics system won the British Council's Big Green Idea Award, and his satirical future inventions have been showcased in major exhibitions, including a solo show in Japan where he envisioned a self-sufficient Tokyo. In 2023, he published his first book, Ultrawild: An Audacious Plan to Rewild Every City on Earth. The book masterfully blends complex STEM knowledge with stunning illustrations, offering creative and hopeful solutions to the climate crisis. The book has received multiple accolades, including the 2024 Australian Book Design Award for Best Designed Children's Non-Fiction book and the 2024 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, Elsie Locke Non-Fiction Award. It was also named a winner of the Storylines Notable Book Awards - Nonfiction in 2023. Described as "the most astonishing children's book I have read in ages," Ultrawild promises to inspire readers of all ages. Don't miss this opportunity to hear from Steve about his fascinating work and his vision for a greener future as we come together at Waiopehu College.  Kate De Goldi. Image credit: Bruce Foster. Source: https://readingambassador.nz/posts/welcome-to-my-reading-for-pleasure-blog We are thrilled to announce some exciting news for the upcoming SLANZA Horowhenua Hui: Stronger Together - Supporting, Sharing Succeeding!
With the hui details confirmed, we can now share some thrilling Keynote Speaker announcements. We've listened to your needs and interests, and our lineup of speakers is designed to help you support your school community. We are absolutely delighted to announce that Kate de Goldi, the newly appointed Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador for Aotearoa New Zealand, will be joining us as a Guiding Voice at the SLANZA Horowhenua Hui: Stronger Together! Commencing her two-year term in June 2025, Kate is set to be a powerful advocate for reading among young New Zealanders, their families, and communities. Kate comes to this vital role with an impressive background as an acclaimed and award-winning author, broadcaster, teacher, and public speaker. Her profound knowledge of children's and young adult literature is extensive, making her an invaluable voice in promoting literacy. Throughout her career, Kate has consistently championed reading and writing within schools and communities, and she has been a long-standing supporter of libraries and young people's access to books. An acclaimed and prolific author, Kate de Goldi has received numerous awards and accolades throughout her career. Her novel The 10pm Question was a major success, winning the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards Book of the Year in 2009. She also won the Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction for From the Cutting Room of Barney Kettle in 2016. Recognised internationally, her work has been honoured with the German LUCHS Prize and selected for the prestigious White Ravens list. Acknowledged for her significant contributions to literature, she was named an Arts Foundation Laureate in 2001 and received the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal in 2011. The "Te Awhi Rito" name, inspired by the harakeke (flax plant), beautifully symbolises the ambassador's role: the mature leaves ("Awhi Rito") protecting and nurturing the young shoot ("Rito"). We are honored that Kate will be a part of our hui as we connect, share, and learn together. We eagerly anticipate hearing her insights and vision for fostering a love of reading across Aotearoa. |
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