MEDIA RELEASE | 7 APRIL 2017

Wellington City Council wins top award at the Asia Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards, Sydney

A community-driven collaboration using smart technology to make Wellington safer and smarter for the city’s vulnerable took the top award at the 2016 Asia Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards Gala Dinner held in Sydney on Wednesday night.

A number winners from the 2016 New Zealand Spatial Excellence Awards, held in Wellington last November, took out top honours at APSEA, the only awards event in the Asia Pacific region for the spatial information and technology industry sector.

NZSEA steering committee member, Hadyn Smith, says “the result speaks volumes for the spatial industry in New Zealand. We compete and beat some of the best practitioners in the world. This many awards, including the top award to Wellington City Council, at APSEA is unprecedented and well deserved.”

The New Zealand winners of the Asia Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards Winners are:

JK Barrie Award

• Wellington City Council for Living Lab

Organisational Awards

People and Community Award

• Wellington City Council for Living Lab

Spatial Enablement Award

• New Zealand Transport Agency for Spatially Enabling a Thriving New Zealand

Individual Awards

Professional of the Year Award

• Professor Wendy Lawson, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Science, University of Canterbury

Postgraduate Student of the Year Award

• Mike McConachie, University of Otago

Highly Commended

Technical Excellence

The APSEA judging committee acknowledged the work of the National Geodetic Office, Land Information New Zealand for Improving New Zealand's Vertical Datum.

Planning for the 4th annual New Zealand Spatial Excellence Awards is now underway (November 2017, Te Papa, Wellington).

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About the New Zealand Spatial Excellence Awards

The New Zealand Spatial Excellence Awards seek out and give recognition to the best, the high achievers, and the contributors who set the benchmarks that others will follow, becoming the role models for the next generation of the spatial profession.

The Awards are a joint venture between the spatial profession, business and government to hold annual awards for all sectors, disciplines and communities that make up the spatial industry. Each partner contributes its resources and expertise to make sure the awards reach the highest standards of excellence and independence.

NZSEA provides a stepping stone for organisations and individuals to be nominated in the Asia-Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards (APSEA) – the only awards for the Asia Pacific region that recognise the excellent achievements of both individuals and organisations engaged in the spatial information industry.

The winners in each category were eligible for the 2016 Asia Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards that were held as part of the 10th International Symposium on Digital Earth and Locate17 Conference, from the 3-6 April 2017, at the International Convention Centre in Sydney.

Read more about the 2016 NZSEA Finalists, visit http://www.nzspatialawards.org.nz/winners/finalists/

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