A LIANZA Fellow and Honorary Fellow of Te Rōpū Whakahau, Te Paea holds a Bachelor of Library and Information Studies and an MBA with Distinction. She is currently completing doctoral research through the University of Otago.

Te Paea will be a keynote speaker at LIANZA 2025 Conference in Wellington September 23-25.

“This is an amazing result. The first IFLA president from Aotearoa and a huge recognition for Te Paea and for the impact Māori librarians have had and continue to have on the profession internationally,” commented LIANZA President, Mark Crookston.

Te Paea says that this role represents an incredible opportunity to champion libraries as spaces of innovation, inclusivity, and sustainability while embracing the richness of our global diversity. With a commitment to strengthening IFLA’s leadership, she says she is inspired to:

• Foster collaboration across cultures, generations, and borders to drive shared progress.
• Champion inclusivity, ensuring diverse voices are represented in the decisions that shape our future.
  Promote sustainability in libraries, aligning our work with global goals for collective impact.

With a career spanning academic libraries, national institutions, and global leadership roles, Te Paea brings deep experience and a strong commitment to embedding mātauranga Māori and Indigenous knowledge systems in the heart of information practice.

Te Paea currently serves as Chair of the IFLA Professional Council and sits on the IFLA Governing Board, helping shape international conversations about the future of libraries, equitable access to knowledge, and the role of Indigenous worldviews in shaping sustainable solutions.

In Aotearoa, she supports the teaching of future library and information professionals and has led strategic initiatives with the National Library and Archives New Zealand to break down systemic barriers and foster genuine collaboration.

Well known to the Aotearoa New Zealand library and information sector, Te Paea has held the presidency and Tumuaki positions for both LIANZA and Te Rōpū Whakahau and is a Fellow of both organisations. She was also a Commissioner on the Minister’s Library and Information Advisory Commission (LIAC).

Te Paea is an ideal keynote speaker for the LIANZA2025 Conference in Wellington this September. Aligned with the conference theme of responding to change, her keynote “Whiringa ki Tawhiti: Libraries Leading a Future of Collective Stewardship” will explore how, in a world of accelerating transformation, libraries are not merely adapting but actively stewarding futures.

She will delve into the role of libraries as relational ecosystems, sustaining people, place, knowledge, and epistemic justice. Her address reflects on leadership as service grounded in relationships, integrity, and responsibility to future generations. Guided by the IFLA Brisbane Declaration and informed by the IFLA Trend Report 2024 and Strategy 2024–2029, Te Paea’s keynote will offer insights that are globally informed and locally grounded.

Te Paea says, “Libraries are uniquely placed as connectors between past and future, communities and taonga, ethics and technology. As stewards, advocates, and leaders, they are being called to lead with care, courage, and collaboration. By being intentional about what we elevate and give mana to, we shift from sustaining to regenerating, ensuring our mahi is resilient, intergenerational, and anchored in collective wellbeing.”