Governor-General Presents Churchill Fellowship Awards

20/9/2004

The Governor - General, Dame Silvia Cartwright, will be hosting the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Award ceremony at Government House on Monday 20 September.

The Vice-Regal ceremony is a biennial event for the Winston Churchill Trust, where 20 recipients of the prestigious overseas travel fellowship will receive their award certificates from the Governor-General, who is the Patron of the Trust.

The projects undertaken by Fellows receiving their award at this time represent fields of interest as varied as education, health, community development, science and technology.

Carmen Knowler from Dunedin, was granted the Fellowship to research drainage services and administrative processes in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Singapore. Dr Andrew Jeffs, a scientist from Auckland, undertook an investigation into the rapid development of aquaculture and made comparisons of policy frameworks and industry arrangements that encourage and facilitate aquaculture activity.

Each of the Fellows who have been selected is regarded, as a leader in their field. Prior to receiving their award, Churchill Fellows are granted funding to undertake intensive investigative research overseas. On their return, Fellows prepare widely distributed and highly respected research reports, which increase the knowledge base and benefit communities within New Zealand.

The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, administered by the Department of Internal Affairs, has offered research opportunities to New Zealanders since it was set up in 1965 as a memorial to Sir Winston Churchill. Sir Winston was a great believer in people going overseas to develop a particular area of expertise and in using this knowledge to make a greater contribution to their community back home.

Contact:

Claire Hall, Communications Advisor

Community Development Group

Department of Internal Affairs

(04) 495-7299

027 284 4228

claire.hall@dia.govt.nz

Morag Osborne, Director (Spokesperson)
Community Development Group
Department of Internal Affairs
(04) 494 0599
(027) 437 7909

Website: Winston Churchill Memorial Trust

Churchill Fellows receiving their awards at the Vice-Regal ceremony, Government House, on 20 September 2004:

Sarah Armstrong

was granted the Fellowship to travel to two transplant units, in the United States and United Kingdom, to examine the assessment processes, educational and treatment programmes before, during and after kidney transplantation. Further, to assess the impact of donor of kidney removal (nephrectomy) using the laparoscopic technique, and awareness raising in the community about the need for organ donation.

William Barrett

was granted the Fellowship to visit selected school districts in the United States, United Kingdom and Israel. The research investigated the practices and procedures used to determine parent, caregiver and community satisfaction with local schooling.

Mark Chambers

was granted the Fellowship to investigate current developments in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and Singapore concerning the establishment of “Virtual Universities” which integrate sophisticated information and telecommunication technologies into the delivery of conventional university degree programmes. The study also focused on the nature and societal impacts of such technologies as well as the implications for the quality and future of New Zealand Universities.

Nicolette Darlow

was granted the Fellowship to travel to Canada (British Columbia), England and Scotland to explore dispute prevention and resolution techniques aimed at keeping young people in school, and to look at formal review and appeal processes.

Douglas Drysdale

was granted the Fellowship to investigate the professional development and support of principals in rural schools in England, Scotland, Prince Edward Island (Canada) and New Zealand.

Jacqueline Fawcett

was granted the Fellowship to travel to the Netherlands to visit leaders of the European Union working group on socio-economic inequalities in health, and to develop methods of comparing socio-economic gradients of mortality in New Zealand with those of Europe and the United States.

Iain Hines

was granted the Fellowship to travel to the Netherlands, Belgium, France, England to investigate how independent grant makers can better support community organisations, in particular facilitating better collaboration between community organisations, government agencies and the commercial sector and by initiating partnership funding arrangements.

Jan Hudson

was granted the Fellowship to travel to the United States and the United Kingdom to explore international models focusing on enhancing the sustainability of community organisations, and the community (third) sector in Aotearoa.

Andrew Jeffs

was granted the Fellowship to travel Australia to investigate the rapid development of aquaculture and to compare the policy frameworks and industry arrangements to encourage and facilitate aquaculture activity.

Pefi Kingi

was granted the Fellowship to attend an Asia Pacific Women’s Electronic Network Training Conference in Seoul, Korea, on information communication technology and to travel to Hawaii to study the strategies and processes that successfully ensure the survival, maintenance and development of an endangered language.

Carmen Knowler

was granted the Fellowship to examine
drainage services and administrative processes in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Singapore, with a view to applying the best practices to the New Zealand drainage trade.

Bryan Lintott

was granted the Fellowship to travel to the United States to investigate current conservation and interpretation techniques for high-usage heritage sites and buildings.

Glenys McKenzie

was granted the Fellowship to investigate the development, growth, marketing and management of the apprenticeship group training companies in Australia.

Lynette Morris

was granted the Fellowship to research school-based financial literacy curricula, at primary and secondary school level in the United States and England, with the aim of enhancing similar programmes in New Zealand.

Christopher Oldham

was granted the Fellowship to study the management of heritage buildings (Cathedrals) in the United Kingdom and United States. The investigation included observation as how to maintain their substantial heritage buildings and manage high visitor numbers, to study how heritage values are affected by visitors and to extract what can be adapted for use in New Zealand heritage buildings.

Ian Platt

was granted the Fellowship to gain knowledge of the long term environmental, economic and social benefits of ecologically based sustainable indigenous forest management in the State of Baden-Wûrttemberg, Federal Republic of Germany, with a view to assessing how German sustainable forest management systems could be applied in New Zealand.

Joanna Randerson

was granted the Fellowship to attend the Summer Literary Seminar in St Petersburg, Russia and participate in the Russian arts community to study their approaches and influences and gain more insight and understanding into their art, culture and practices.

Geoff Warren

was granted the Fellowship to investigate improved methods for obtaining odour sampling and measurement from a wide range of odour sources at leading testing and research laboratories in Australia.

Alan Witcombe

was granted the Fellowship to travel to
Germany to study the German parliamentary committees in the context of their experiences operating under a Mixed Member Proportional electoral system to report findings to improve and enhance the effectiveness of New Zealand select committees, their practices and procedures and public participation and make recommendations for reform in New Zealand.

Kim Workman

Was granted the Fellowship to travel to the United States to examine and review church-based and Christian programmes aimed at the successful transformation, restoration and reintegration of prison inmates and their families into the community.

Churchill Fellows receiving the award at this time, but not attending the ceremony:



Claire Balfour (Auckland)

was granted the Fellowship to travel to the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States to undertake research for the 2002 update of New Zealand’s Internet Safety Kit for children and young people.

Graeme Buchan (Christchurch)

was granted the Fellowship to travel to the United States and Canada to research the mechanisms of pathogen contamination of water resources, and predisposing conditions for contamination, including, best management practices to avoid contamination risks in New Zealand.

Carolyn Doughty (Christchurch)

was granted the Fellowship to research national peer-support organisations for manic depression (Bipolar disorder) based in Europe, Canada, United States and the United Kingdom, to provide a detailed document that will enable the implementation of practical initiatives within New Zealand.

John Glass (New Plymouth)

was granted the Fellowship to investigate three memory assessment and cognitive retraining clinics based in the United Kingdom and United States which are involved in neuropsychology assessment, training and rehabilitation programmes targeting older adults experiencing impairment of attention and/or memory processes due to age related changes and/or various forms of cerebral trauma/disease.

Craig Howard (Invercargill)

was granted the Fellowship to investigate international floral markets (Cut-flowers and Medicinal Herbs) in Europe, Canada and the United States to examine “New Crop” programmes not yet available in New Zealand and their technology transfer systems

Jane McKenzie (Christchurch)

was granted the Fellowship to investigate methods of teaching print journalism, particularly sub-editing, to students in the United Kingdom; to fine tune the relationship between the journalism classroom and the workplace, and to follow up on research in relation to the print industry and the entry-level sub editor in New Zealand.

Kevin Moran (Auckland)

was granted the Fellowship to examine the latest research and developments in the teaching and promotion of swimming and water safety in schools and the community in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Janet Pereira (Dunedin)

was granted the Fellowship to research the impact of high stakes exams for Year Eight students in Western Samoa and relate these findings to the New Zealand context.

Reihana Robinson (Coromandel)

was granted the Fellowship to study how indigenous cultures are presented in contemporary art education by undertaking school visits and archival research in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia.