About Te Awhi Rito

Alan Dingley Te Awhi Rito

Born in Christchurch, and raised in Hawke’s Bay, Alan Dingley is the current Te Awhi Rito NZ Reading Ambassador.

Alan has over 25 years of experience working with children and young people, almost 20 of those in school and public libraries. He is currently Community Librarian at Te Patikitiki Highbury Library in Palmerston North.

He has a deep knowledge of New Zealand children’s and young adult (YA) literature. In 2020, he was on the judging panel for the Children’s and Young Peoples Book Awards NZCYA), then Convenor of Judges in 2021.

Alan also teaches drama and performs with SpontaneoUS Improv group in Palmerston North and is into his fourth decade of playing football.

He is a lucky dad to 2 gorgeous children, Sam and George, a dog called Chaos, 2 budgies, one axolotl, and 2 rats.

Alan succeeds Ben Brown (Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Koroki, Ngāti Paoa).

Alan Dingley in the media

Librarian promoted to inspire a nation of young readers — Stuff article

RNZ’s The Panel (from about 20 minutes in)

SLANZA Sessions — podcast episode 7 — Alan (who is also a host) talks about his hopes and ideas for the role.

About the role

As a national reading role model, Te Awhi Rito New Zealand Reading Ambassador will build visibility and awareness of reading across all sectors in Aotearoa New Zealand, helping to create a nation of readers.

Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador aims to do the following:

• Inspire, empower and mobilise powerful, positive reading experiences for children, young people, whānau, and communities in Aotearoa New Zealand.

• Deliver and support reading programmes and events, including those underway in the National Library and with other partnerships and organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand.

• Work with and make connections between the many organisations involved in reading, literacy, literature, and the wellbeing of young people and their whānau.

• Build appreciation of, access to, and growth of stories and literature that reflect Aotearoa New Zealand. This includes helping increase the creation of and access to reading resources in te reo Māori and the diverse languages and cultures of Aotearoa.

• Connect and work with the network of reading ambassadors and children’s laureates across the globe.

Te Awhi Rito is appointed for a 2-year term. The National Library provides ongoing coordination and support, and Te Puna Foundation, the fundraising body for the National Library, provides funding for the role.

Partner group

The National Library of New Zealand leads the Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador initiative in collaboration with 4 foundation partners:

• Te Puna Foundation

• Read New Zealand Te Pou Muramura

• Creative New Zealand Toi Aotearoa

• Storylines Children’s Literature Charitable Trust Te Whare Waituhi Tamariki o Aotearoa.

The partner group provides ongoing advice and support to the Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador and steers the development of the programme of activities.

Read more about Te Awhi Rito role

Find out more on the National Library website

Previously

Ben Brown

The inaugural Reading Ambassador (May 2021 to May 2023) was writer Ben Brown. Ben (Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Koroki, Ngāti Paoa) writes children's books, non-fiction, poetry and short stories for children and adults.

Born in Motueka (1962), the father of 2 has been a tobacco farm labourer, tractor driver and market gardener. Since 1992, he has been a publisher and writer, collaborating with the illustrator, Helen Taylor, in most of his 17 publications. Ben is a regular in the Read NZ Te Pou Muramura's Writers in Schools programme.

Many of Brown's books have a strong New Zealand nature background. Brown and Taylor were short-listed in 2005 for the Te Kura Pounamu Award in the LIANZA Children's Book Awards for Nga Raukura Rima Tekau Ma Rima, the te reo edition of Fifty-Five Feathers. The English edition was also shortlisted for the Russell Clark Award in 2005. He was awarded the Māori Writer’s Residency at the Michael King Writers’ Centre for 2011.

In 2020, Brown presented the annual Read NZ Te Pou Muramura Pānui (lecture) titled ‘If Nobody Listens Then No One Will Know’, which received widespread acclaim. His pānui affirms the vital importance of writing, reading and knowing each other through our stories and explores the complex concept of youth justice in Aotearoa.

In early 2020, Brown taught a writing workshop at Te Puna Wai ō Tuhinapo, the Oranga Tamariki Youth Justice Residence facility at Rolleston near Christchurch. The workshop was part of Writers in Youth Justice, a Read NZ Te Pou Muramura Writers in Communities programme. This workshop resulted in an anthology of poetry by the YPs (Young People) who took part titled How the F* Did I Get Here, edited by Brown.

Ben’s blog posts and videos

Ben Brown — Te pānui o Te Awhi Rito: Te hā, te kupu, te kōrero — at an event on 2 December 2022 at the National Library in Wellington, Ben reflected on his time as Te Awhi Rito New Zealand Reading Ambassador

Community and Te Awhi Rito supporting ‘rito’ to engage with reading — a video where Ben talks about the metaphor of Te Awhi Rito, the role of nurturing and inspiring the ‘rito’ — the young shoot, the children of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Libraries: Embassies of reading — in this video, Ben talks about libraries — ‘embassies of reading’.

Tūranga and the value of public libraries — a video where Ben introduces Tūranga (Christchurch Central Library) and talks about the value public libraries provide.

A summertime story — for school students, summer is a long holiday season. Fun in the sun. 6 weeks downtime from the books with the potential for a ‘summer slide’ in reading engagement.

When I was a boy — Ben talks about Joe Doyle, a storyteller who introduced him to the ‘majesty and magic of words’.

The library is on Pā Street — Ben reflects on his first encounter with the Motueka Public Library when he was 10 and the vital role of public libraries in communities.

Once upon a time there was a story — Ben muses on Matariki and the universality of origin stories, which define our beginning and help us make sense of the things around us.

Tauparapara o Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador — listen to Ben Brown’s tauparapara.

Contact

For media, event or general enquires about Te Awhi Rito, contact: reading-ambassador@dia.govt.nz.