Weaving Stories, Weaving Resilience: Reflections from the 2025 Media Awards

Last night, I attended the 2025 Media Awards, where the theme of the evening resonated: journalists as weavers of our communities. This idea, drawn from Ta Ao Māori, recognises how stories connect people, histories, and place, creating the fabric of a shared identity.

Though my work sits in the space of resilience, the built environment, and community engagement, there are clear parallels. Resilience isn’t just about infrastructure or policies, it’s about people and the stories that give meaning to the places we live, the challenges we face, and the futures we hope to build.

It’s vital that diverse voices like government, communities, and technical experts come together to co-create solutions that reflect lived experience. Like good journalism, it’s about listening, respecting local knowledge, and connecting individual threads into a stronger whole.

Importantly, media brings visibility to community voices that might otherwise go unheard, shaping public awareness and influencing decision-making.

By weaving together diverse perspectives, journalism fosters a shared understanding of both the challenges and strengths within our communities. This, in turn, supports more inclusive, locally grounded recovery efforts and strengthens long-term resilience..