Nominations will open on Monday 3 February for The Governor-General’s ANZAC of the Year award, which seeks to celebrate New Zealanders whose work or actions embody the spirit of ANZAC.
It was announced today in Wellington that the Award, established by the RSA in 2010, now has the patronage of The Governor-General, Lt Gen The Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae, and is being re-titled accordingly.
Presented in partnership with the RSA, The Governor-General’s ANZAC of the Year will recognise those who have combined the four key values of comradeship, compassion, courage and commitment in a way that typifies the very best of the New Zealand national character.
“The stories of courage and comradeship from the First World War inspired a legend that lives on today as the ANZAC spirit. It is most appropriate that this award is given a higher profile in the year when we begin to mark the centenaries of the events of 1914 -1918,” Sir Jerry Mateparae said at the launch.
“Since those days, the ANZAC identity has come to stand for a set of values equally applicable to life in the 21st century – bonding with our comrades, be they friends, family or workmates; showing care and concern for others; applying ourselves without fear to challenges and seeing them through to the end. Every day in communities all around New Zealand we see people from all walks of life making a difference. This award is a chance to recognise those valuable contributions nationally and we’re looking to the community to help us identify people, organisations and entities whose work and acts could qualify them as The Governor-General’s ANZAC of the Year.”
Sam Johnson, the organiser of 2012 Award winners the Student Volunteer Army, said the award sought to link the values of today’s world back to those of the ANZACS.
“By finding people who have embraced the values of ANZAC we can spark a conversation about where we want to go as a country,” Mr Johnson said.
“When the Student Volunteer Army received the award on 2012 we were quite humbled. It challenged us to think about living values centred lives and being socially conscious citizens. I think there are many others out there doing the same and who need to be recognised.”
Nominations for the award open to the public on Monday 3 February with the final recipient decided by a panel chaired by the Governor-General. More information on the award, its background and how to make a nomination can be found at http://www.rsa.org.nz/governor-generals-anzac-year-award
For more information, contact Jo Blick, Government House Public Affairs Adviser, on 021 545 723.