Ms Pānia Papa, of Kawau Island, ONZM, for services to Māori language education and broadcasting
Pānia Papa (Ngāti Korokī-Kahukura, Ngāti Mahuta) was a Māori Studies lecturer at Waikato University and a tutor of Te Panekiretanga o te Reo (Institute of Excellence in the Māori Language). She is a director of Takatū Associates, focusing on innovations in Māori language education and broadcasting. She has presented and written te reo Māori educational shows and produced Māori versions of English-language cartoons. She helped review New Zealand’s Māori Language Strategy and oversaw translation of the Māori Language Act 2016. She worked to implement the Waikato-Tainui language strategy. She has translated 12 children’s books into te reo, composed more than 40 waiata and authored a children’s lullaby anthology. Ms Papa was a founding Trustee of Kotahi Rau Pukapuka Trust, aiming to publish 100 books in Māori over 25 years.