Under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002, RNZ is designated as a critical Lifeline Utility organisation. This means RNZ is required to develop processes and maintain arrangements and relationships that support the effective and consistent broadcast of warnings and public information in an emergency.

“I learnt the value of RNZ in a time of emergency early in my career covering the Christchurch earthquakes and reinforced more recently helping co-ordinate our coverage of Cyclone Gabrielle.  I see this role as an opportunity to help with vital communication during an emergency and through the recovery period,” Kate said.

Come and see Kate participate in this year’s media panel with Kate Nicol-Williams from TV 1 News and Lauren Crimp from Radio NZ on Day 2 (Friday).

Kathryn is Tangata Tiriti of European descent and has spent the last decade working in strategic communications and engagement in diverse contexts across the public and private sectors, including high tech, local government, tertiary and Deaf education, community healthcare, the military, and iwi organisations.

Prior to this, Kathryn spent 16 years with Air New Zealand, including two seconded to the Star Alliance in Germany when it was a startup. A lifelong learner, she holds a BBS and PGDipBusAdmin (Distinction) from Massey University along with several industry-leading qualifications in communications and engagement, culture design, and change management. Kathryn is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors, a Trustee of Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre in Christchurch, and serves on the EMPA Board.

Read about Workshop 3 – Emotional fitness: Making a plan to last the distance here Workshops

If you are attending the conference on Day 1, nominate Workshop 3 at either 1pm or 3pm at the time of registration or contact us to update your preferences.

The awards celebrate best-practice and outstanding emergency communications work undertaken in New Zealand over the past year across six categories and will be presented at the Conference dinner on Thursday 7 November at Te Papa, Wellington.

Review the criteria and prepare your entry now!

Awards

The WPP Government and Public Sector Practice works with governments and public sector organisations around the world, pioneering the application of excellence in public communications to the challenges of public policy delivery.

Don’t miss Sean Howard’s opening keynote address at EMPA New Zealand 2024!

Andrew Campbell is Global Director of Strategic Communications for the Octopus Energy Group based in London.  He has also been on the frontline of New Zealand’s recent major emergency events.  As Chief Press Secretary to Dame Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins he devised the media strategy and led the Government’s communications response through an unprecedented range of domestic crisis including COVID-19, the Whakaari/White Island volcanic eruption, the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack and resulting ban of semi-automatic firearms and the responses to a range of climate related disasters including the historic 2023 Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle – New Zealand’s most costly weather event.

Mark Trüdinger is the Group Recovery Manager for Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management. With an initial background in communications, he has worked for the last two decades for an organisation that specialises in working with communities who have experienced hardship and trauma after disasters, war, and genocide. His approach to community engagement in the Recovery from 2023’s Cyclone Gabrielle blended traditional approaches from communications and community engagement with collective community practices. As part of this recovery and preparing the Regional Recovery Plan for Northland, he worked with more than 500 people and 100 organisations. The conference program will be released shortly via the website and the EMPA newsletter.  Ensure you’re on the mailing list!

As Chief Press Secretary to Dame Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins he devised the media strategy and led the Government’s communications response through an unprecedented range of domestic crisis including COVID-19, the Whakaari/White Island volcanic eruption, the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack and resulting ban of semi-automatic firearms and the responses to a range of climate related disasters including the historic 2023 Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle – New Zealand’s most costly weather event.

Prior to his time in the Prime Minister’s Office he worked for New Zealand Rugby and was a former Communications Director and Chief of Staff for the New Zealand Green Party.

Philippe also lectures at universities across Europe and North Africa and shares his insights at industry conferences. He is the author of the book “Mastering Crisis Communication with ChatGPT; A Practical Guide” and editor of the weekly newsletter Wag The Dog, which reports on trends in risk, crisis, and emergency communication. He began his career at IBM and Porter Novelli International, where he focused on corporate and crisis communications.