Te Auaha Pito Mata – New and Emerging Researcher Awards 2023


Community Research researcher awards are held bi-annually. They focus on recognising and celebrating new and emerging researchers and their contribution to a healthy, engaged and informed Tangata Whenua, Community and Voluntary Sector in Aotearoa New Zealand. After a 2 year gap in our awards capabilities during the pandemic we were so happy to gather and tautoko the incredible mahi of Community Researchers.

Thank you to everyone who came along and supported the researchers and their presentations.

Tangata Whenua Community Researcher Award 
Petar DruskovichBuilding a Monitoring Toolkit to Give Effect to 3 Ngaa Rauru Freshwater Values 


Ethnic and migrant Community Researcher Award
Pooja Jayan: Community-led culture-centered prevention of family violence and sexual violence 


Pasifika Community Researcher Award
Tufulasi Taleni
How and why effective educational leadership can advance Pacific students’ learning, health and wellbeing

Community researcher/evaluator Award
Leonie King: Enhancing the development of refugee-background youth in Aotearoa New Zealand through non-formal education. 

Billie Award Winners – strengths-based research Award
Ayesha Qureshi  – Strengths-based resilience intervention for informal carers of stroke survivors;
Joe Wilson – Waikato Wellbeing Project’s Lots of Little Fires video storytelling kaupapa

Photos from our awards evening

Pooja Jayan
Tufulasi Taleni and friends and family
Joe Wilson
Petar Druskovich winner of the Tangata whenua award with his whānau
Ayesha Quiresi
Leonie King

We would like to thank and congratulate the nominees for these awards for their excellent work.

We had numerous nominations and such a high standard of research made it particularly difficult for our Judging Panel. We are humbled that these amazing practitioners have generously agreed to lend their expertise and experience to help judge these awards.

Chelsea Grootveld –Aiko Consultants Ltd
Janet Tupou – Auckland University of Technology
Sandar Duckworth and Tayo Agunlejika – Litmus & Ethnic Research Aotearoa
Rachael Lamb-Yorski – Litmus.

These guest judges will join Garth Nowland-Foreman and Jennifer Leahy from Community Research’s Kaitiaki. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou.

Community Research

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