Celebrating great New Zealanders doing extraordinary things.

BLAKE Awards Dinner Event

March 2024

Invitation

Nominaions have closed for the 2023 BLAKE Leader Awards

BLAKE Awards

The annual BLAKE Awards recognise and celebrate people whose leadership has delivered high impact results and contributed to a more sustainable future for Aotearoa – either socially, culturally, environmentally or economically.

Each year we look to celebrate up to seven extraordinary New Zealanders who have created positive impact from all areas of New Zealand society – this includes six BLAKE Leader Awards and one BLAKE Medallist.

Nominations for the 2023 BLAKE Leader Awards closed on 23 May 2023. 

There are four leadership award categories:

  • BLAKE Award (4)
  • BLAKE Award – Rangatahi (1)
  • BLAKE Award – Kaitiaki o te Taiao / Environment (1)
  • BLAKE Medal (1)

BLAKE Award: This award recognises and celebrates people whose leadership has delivered high impact results and contributed to a more sustainable future for New Zealand. This includes leadership creating impact across any social, cultural, environmental or economic areas of New Zealand society. Up to four BLAKE Awards in this category are presented annually.

BLAKE Award – Kaitiaki o te Taiao: Sponsored by NIWA, this award recognises and celebrates a person whose leadership has delivered high impact results with a significant emphasis on environmental sustainability. This can include fields such as science, education, communication, or general environmental leadership.

BLAKE Award – Rangatahi: Sponsored by Westpac, this award recognises and celebrates one young person annually aged 13-24 whose leadership creates an impact on a sustainable future for New Zealand. This includes leadership creating impact across any social, cultural, environmental or economic areas of New Zealand society. This award may relate specifically to a project.

BLAKE Medal: The BLAKE Medal recognises and celebrates one person each year whose leadership has helped create a more sustainable future for New Zealand and/or globally, usually over an extended period of time. This includes leadership creating impact across any social, cultural, environmental or economic area of society. One BLAKE Medal is awarded annually.

For more information email Alice Ward-Allen at [email protected] or phone (09) 307 8875.

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Meet our 2021/22 BLAKE Leaders:

BLAKE Medallist 2022

Every year in this country, a national cervical screening programme saves the lives of at least 100 women. That programme exists partly because of the work of Professor Sir David Skegg, a man who has dedicated his life to fighting cancer and other debilitating diseases. Sir David is a world-renowned leader, academic, health advisor and […]

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BLAKE Leader 2022 - Kaitiaki o te Taiao / Environment

New Zealanders love fantails, and 99 per cent of a fantail’s diet is insects. Fantails follow us as we go hiking through the forest, snapping away at all the invertebrate protein we’ve stirred up from the branches and soil. What few of us realise, however, is that fantails are descended from Tyrannosaurus Rex – and […]

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BLAKE Leader 2022 - Rangatahi

By the time she was 12, Georgia Latu was already someone who enjoyed making gifts for her friends and whānau. So when she found herself facing the challenge of getting to a wānanga in the North island, it was natural to put those skills towards a fundraising effort. Within three days, she’d raised $1000. She […]

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Blake Leader 2022

You might have seen video footage of Carlos Hotene, swerving and jinking past would-be tacklers on rugby league fields both here and overseas. But you probably haven’t seen the quiet mahi he puts in at home, building a sustainable future for his marae and feeding the people of Mangere. From a young age, Carlos dreamed […]

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Blake Leader 2022

He appears regularly in the media, commenting on how a blend of science and mātauranga Māori can help us overcome our most important ecological challenges. It’s therefore no surprise that Dr Daniel Hikuroa has become world-renowned for the way he has successfully integrated Earth system science with mātauranga Māori –Māori knowledge, culture, values and worldview […]

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Blake Leader 2022

Action and leadership are needed right now if we are to meet the challenges of climate change and build a sustainable future for our planet. Wellington environment and climate scientist Dr Richard Levy is committed to helping us understanding global warming and lead the necessary changes. Since his childhood days building machines from Meccano sets, […]

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Blake Leader 2022

When Brianne West noticed how much plastic was sitting on her bathroom shelves, she decided to do something about it. She set out to rid the world of wasteful beauty products. It was 2012, and the Canterbury University student did not yet have enough cash to battle the cosmetics industry on a global scale. But […]

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